US launches Air Force GPS satellite
Posted on: Sunday, 21 March 2004, 06:00 CST
US launches Air Force GPS satellite
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States launched an Air Force Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite into space on Saturday.
The 45 million-US dollar satellite, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the US Air Force Space Command, was launched aboard a Boeing-built Delta 2 rocket, at the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The new satellite, which is to replace an 11-year-old GPS satellite, will start service in mid-April with a life expectancy of 10 years. It will join a constellation of 27 other satellites in orbit above the earth.
The satellite was launched at 12:53 p.m. local time (17:53 GMT), after a delay of 12 minutes, and officials reported the satellite was in its initial orbit 14 minutes after liftoff.
The Space Command operates the GPS satellites which are used by the US military and people around the world to define their positions on the globe.
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