The fourth GPS IIF satellite launched in 2014—the eighth overall—has completed on-orbit checkout, joining the active 31-satellite constellation, according to a Dec. 18 Boeing release. The vehicle launched Oct. 29 and completed on-orbit checkout Dec. 12. “We made great progress this year in the quest to modernize GPS services,” said Dan Hart, vice president of government space systems for Boeing Network & Space Systems. “With two-thirds of the 12 Boeing GPS IIFs now on orbit, the constellation is setting new records for accuracy and the Boeing GPS IIF’s are consistently among the best performing.”
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
