United Launch Alliance Lifts off GPS Satellite into Space

Originally scheduled for last Thursday but pushed back due to inclement weather, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket launched into space on Friday, carrying a $245 million Global Positioning System satellite.

The Air Force's GPS IIF-6 was launched aboard the Delta 4 rocket on Friday, May 16, at 8:03 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This Global Positioning system is a next-generation GPS satellites and is expected to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.

This GPS launch was the second of four that are scheduled for 2014 to add improved capabilities to the systems. Their current mission is to replace an old GPS satellite that was launched in 1993. The launch on Friday put the GPS 2F-6 into orbit, the sixth in the latest series that includes a total of 12 upgraded GPS 2F satellites.

"The replacement of our legacy satellites ensures both the sustainment and the modernization of the GPS constellation by providing increased signal power, improved accuracy and anti-jamming capabilities for GPS users worldwide," said Mission Director Walter Lauderdale, in this CBS News article. "Our continued modernization helps GPS remain the gold standard for space-based PNT (position, navigation and timing)."

A totaly of 24 satellites are needed in orbit to provide global coverage, and there are currently 31 in the active constellation, with the first GPS 2F being launched in May 2010 (being the 25^th satellite). The GPS 2F-6 satellite launched on Friday is expected to be active in a month. The rest of the GPS 2F satellites are expected to all be launched by the end of 2016, with the seventh coming in July and the eighth coming in the fall.

The United Launch Alliance conducted its 82^nd launch for the Air Force with the GPS 2F-6 on Friday, and it was the Delta 4's 26^th launch since November of 2002. The current contract between the ULA and Air Force was signed in 2006 and worth $9.5 billion until the remainder of national security-related launches are conducted.

Founder and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, has protested against the Air Force's contract with the ULA because he believes it "monopolizes" such launches of which his company should be able to compete for. Musk mentioned that a contract with SpaceX would save American taxpayers $1 billion per year because they don't import their rockets from Russia like the ULA does.

You can read more about the GPS 2F-6 launch in this CBS News article.