The Air Force on Monday successfully placed the last of its modernized Global Positioning System IIR satellites into orbit. A United Launch Alliance Delta II Rocket fired from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., carried this satellite, designated GPS IIR-21(M), into space. It joined the constellation of 30 other GPS spacecraft, including seven other Block IIR-M satellites, that provide precision navigation, location, and timing functions to the US military and worldwide civil users. “I am exceedingly pleased with today’s launch and elated to be a part of a mission that plays a critical component of our nation’s infrastructure,” said Col. Dave Madden, commander of the GPS Wing at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite features improved accuracy, enhanced encryption, anti-jamming capabilities, and a second civil signal. It is expected to be declared ready for operations next month. (Los Angeles release)
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…