Asian Surveying & Mapping
Breaking News
HAL to build, market Isro’s SSLV in landmark deal
New Delhi, Jun 20: In a historic move for...
Taiwan developing space capabilities for all-weather imaging
TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan is advancing its space...
Honda hails successful test of reusable rocket as it looks to get into the space business
Tokyo — Japan's second-biggest carmaker, Honda, has successfully tested...
China’s space program provides larger platform for broader international cooperation
BEIJING -- Experts from China's manned space program said...
India To Launch $1.5 Billion Joint Earth Mission With NASA In July
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian...
Axiom-4 mission delayed again: ISRO confirms Subhanshu Shukla’s ISS spaceflight won’t launch before 22 June 2025
The Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station has...
Mengzhou spacecraft for China’s moon-landing mission passes landmark test flight
China has completed the inaugural test flight of its...
Space application for ITMA Asia + CITME 2026 opens
Shanghai – Space application for the 2026 edition of...
Yanmar, Chia Tai and XAG Empower Thai Agriculture through Innovation
Bang Nam Priao District, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand – On...
bitsensing Signs MOU with IKIO Technologies to Advance AI-Based Traffic Monitoring on India’s Expressways, Highways and Municipal Areas
Backed by proven success in South Korea and Europe,...

August 26th, 2019
Aerojet Rocketdyne Helping to Propel Modernization of GPS Satellite Constellation

  • Successful mission helped place the second advanced GPS III satellite into orbit
  • Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion systems support every phase of mission; from boost to decommissioning
  • Launch marked final mission for ULA Delta IV Medium launch vehicle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.- A new U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, built by Lockheed Martin and known as GPS III Space Vehicle 02 (GPS III SV02), successfully launched on Aug. 22 aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided several propulsion systems to support the launch and operations of this next-generation GPS III satellite. GPS III SV02 is the second of up to 32 planned GPS III satellites which will help the Air Force modernize the GPS constellation with new technology and advanced capabilities.

“Aerojet Rocketdyne has provided onboard propulsion for every GPS satellite since the program’s inception some four decades ago. That’s more than 70 satellites for one of the nation’s most important space programs,” said Eileen Drake, the company’s CEO and president. “We also provided the propulsion systems that powered the vast majority of the launch vehicles that placed these satellites into orbit.”

The mission began when Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RS-68A engine ignited to provide more than 705,000 pounds of liftoff thrust that helped boost the Delta IV rocket off the pad. Following the boost phase of the flight, a single RL10B-2 engine ignited to provide 24,750 pounds of thrust to power the upper stage into orbit. Twelve Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-106H monopropellant (hydrazine) thrusters packaged in four modules on the Delta IV upper stage provide roll, pitch and yaw control as well as propellant settling burns. ARDÉ, a subsidiary for Aerojet Rocketdyne based in New Jersey, furnishes 14 pressurant tanks for the vehicle.

This launch marked the final mission for ULA’s highly-successful Delta IV Medium rocket. The more powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket will remain in production to meet the nation’s heavy-lift launch requirements until the next generation of U.S. heavy-lift launch vehicles are certified to carry payloads to orbit. The Delta IV Heavy is currently the only launch vehicle certified to fly the nation’s heaviest Category C national security payloads.

The GPS III SV02 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force, uses Aerojet Rocketdyne thrusters for orbit maintenance and adjustment, attitude control and end-of-life decommissioning. The spacecraft is equipped with 12 Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-103G thrusters, each generating 0.2 pounds of thrust, and six MR-106L thrusters, each producing 5 pounds of thrust.

Lockheed Martin is under contract to develop and build up to 32 GPS III/IIIF satellites for the Air Force. GPS III will deliver three times better accuracy and provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III is the first GPS satellite to broadcast the new L1C civil signal to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, like Galileo.

The Air Force maintains a constellation of at least 24 GPS satellites in Medium Earth Orbit providing positioning, timing and navigation information for military, commercial and civilian use. GPS data support applications ranging from guiding precision munitions, to commercial navigation, to time-stamping bank transactions.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne: Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion systems and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, and tactical systems areas, in support of domestic and international customers. For more information, visit www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com. Follow Aerojet Rocketdyne and CEO Eileen Drake on Twitter at @AerojetRdyne and @DrakeEileen