What Happened
For the fourth time in a little more than a year, the US Space Force needs to send up a new satellite to replenish the military's GPS navigation network.
Why It Matters
And once again, the company the Pentagon is paying to launch it can't answer the call.
Key Details
- United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, was supposed to launch the final satellite for the Space Force's GPS Block III program this month.
- Space Systems Command, responsible for buying spacecraft and rockets for the military, announced Friday it has transferred the launch to a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, ULA's chief rival in the market for launching US government satellites.
- This is only the latest example of the Space Force moving a GPS launch from ULA to SpaceX.
- The three most recent GPS satellites were also supposed to launch on ULA's Vulcan rocket.
Background Context
For the fourth time in a little more than a year, the US Space Force needs to send up a new satellite to replenish the military's GPS navigation network. And once again, the company the Pentagon is paying to launch it can't answer the call. United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, was supposed to launch the final satellite for the Space Force's GPS Block III program this month. Space Systems Command, responsible for buying spacecraft and rockets for the military, announced Friday it has transferred the launch to a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, ULA's chief rival in the market for launching US government satellites. This is only the latest example of the
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Source: Ars Technica – All content – Original Link
Source: Ars Technica – All content
