Air Force Space Command is planning to start using GPS satellite tracking, as opposed to radar tracking, to determine the positions of satellites in orbit, officials told reporters during a teleconference Friday. The July 31 launch of the seventh GPS IIF satellite will be the last one that uses the C-Band radar tracking, said Walter Lauderdale, Air Force Space Command GPS IIF-7 mission director. “The Delta IV launch vehicles have been, for several missions, since last year, flying with GPS metric tracking, and starting with the Worldview on the West Coast in the first part of August, Atlas V will also be solely on GPS metric tracking,” he said. AFSPC began pushing for the change in 2008, and United Launch Alliance and the Air Force began transitioning to the GPS system earlier this year. The move is said to help cut costs and provide enhanced range safety information, officials said.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…