An unmanned Atlas rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Wednesday to deliver a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.
The 58-meter rocket, built and launched by a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, delivered a $245 million Boeing-built GPS satellite, the eighth in the military’s new series. Once in position 20,375 kilometers above the planet, the satellite will replace an aging earlier model in the 31-member operational network.
The launch from Florida happened 17 hours after an unmanned Orbital Sciences rocket exploded seconds after liftoff form a launch pad on the Virginia coast, destroying a cargo capsule bound for the International Space Station (ISS).