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 Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract to design and build a communications satellite prototype with advanced anti-jam and data processing capabilities. The service announced the contract for the Enhanced Protected Tactical SATCOM-Prototype program, or Enhanced PTS-P, May 15, and said the satellite will launch no sooner than…