Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing and industry partners launched a Global Positioning System IIR-M satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster on Oct. 17. The Lockheed Martin-built GPS Block IIR-17M satellite features enhanced operations and navigation signal performance for both military and civilian customers, per a company release. This spacecraft, launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., is the fourth IIR-M to go on orbit.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
