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.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
