The sixth Global Positioning System IIF satellite successfully launched May 16 from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket. “Today’s successful launch demonstrates our combined government and industry team’s dedication to mission success, ensuring GPS continues to be the gold standard for space based positioning, navigation, and timing,” said Col. Bill Cooley, director of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate, in a May 16 release. The Air Force accepted control of the fifth of 12 GPS IIF satellites from Boeing in April.
The U.S. military announced Dec. 6 that it is standing down its entire fleet of Ospreys after eight Airmen were killed in a crash. The Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy are all standing down Osprey operations after an Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22 crashed off the coast of…