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SpaceX’s first US military satellite launched

December 25 , 2018 2162 days 803 0
  • SpaceX launched the U.S. Air Force’s newest ‘GPS III’ satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA.
  • This GPS 3 satellite replaces an aging GPS 2R spacecraft launched in 1997.
  • The solar-powered spacecraft, dubbed “Vespucci,” is the company’s first official “National Security Space” mission.
  • It will provide three-times better accuracy than current systems and will be eight-times better at anti-jamming.
  • Nicknamed Vespucci, it honours Italian cartographer and explorer Amerigo Vespucci, after whom North and South America were named.
  • It was competed through the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
  • The successful GPS III SV01 mission marked SpaceX’s 21st and final launch of 2018.

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