Air Force set to launch next-to-last GPS IIF satellite
Service platforms are removed from around the encapsulated GPS IIF-11 satellite stacked atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 launch vehicle Oct. 21 in the Vertical Integration Facility near Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. GPS IIF satellites provide improved signals that will enhance the precise global positioning, navigation and timing services supporting both the warfighter and the growing civilian needs of our global economy. GPS IIF satellites provide improved navigational accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, a longer design life than previous GPS satellites, and a third operational civil signal (L5) that benefits commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications. The Air Force and its mission partners are scheduled to launch GPS IIF-11 from SLC-41 at CCAFS on Oct. 30. The launch window opens at 12:17 p.m. EDT and will remain open for 18 minutes. (Courtesy photo: United Launch Alliance)