The first Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite came through its initial integrated system test with flying colors. The GPS Wing at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., confirmed that all major subsystem are integrated properly on the satellite, which is slated for launch next year. But next it must go through acoustic, separation, and thermal vacuum testing, according to a Space and Missile Systems Center release.
The Space Force is playing midwife to a new ecosystem of commercial satellite constellations providing alternatives to the service’s own Global Positioning Service from much closer to the Earth, making their signals more accurate and harder to jam.
