Air Force officials have begun test transmissions of the new L-5 safety-of-life navigation signal from the newest Global Positioning System satellite as part of the satellite’s on-orbit checkout phase. The Air Force launched this satellite into space on May 27. It is the first in the Boeing-built Block IIF series. Among its features is the L-5 signal for civil pilots. The initial test transmissions of L-5 began June 5 and will take place intermittently during the satellite’s three-month phase of on-orbit testing. All Block IIF spacecraft will transmit L-5, as will future GPS Block III satellites. (Los Angeles release)
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
