By
Bena Ilyas
April 23rd, 2024
The latest GPS III generation satellite has been insulated against interference as its jamming technology has been massively improved in addition to the GPS navigation capabilities.
Elon Musk‘s rocket company SpaceX has officially launched its GPS III generation satellite for the US military for the second time this year. This is the fourth GPS III generation satellite launched into orbit by the company after its third in June this year, and also, being the first satellite launched for the US military by SpaceX.
The latest GPS III generation satellite has been insulated against interference as its jamming technology has been massively improved in addition to the GPS navigation capabilities. It provides three times greater accuracy with anti-jamming power shaped to be up to 8 times improved over satellite. Its signal jamming is protected with the upgraded M-Code and just one short of the said 24 that can be used for global coverage.
The blasting off of the GPS III generation satellite has encountered a couple of delays with the initial launching date set in the last week of September. This did not work out and was pushed to October 2. However, the mission was aborted just 2 seconds before the blast-off.
There were some technical concerns revealed to be a relief valve line blocked by masking lacquer. The revelation was made after four astronauts were sent to the international space station. The interference of the masking lacquer forced two of the nine Merlin engines to auto-shutdown in the launch sequence, and this happened two seconds before the official launch. Having noticed this, the said engines were replaced.
A new Falcon 9 first stage was used by SpaceX to successfully launch the GPS III generation satellite. According to the report, a controlled landing on its drone ship was used by the company to recover the rocket booster. SpaceX confirmed that its payload achieved a good orbit. It is currently finding its way to the deployment point, then from there, the spacecraft executes its last orbital insertion. This mission took place in Cape Canaveral in Florida. The next launch is expected to be on 14 Nov. for the first operational commercial crew mission. Falcon 9 rockets will be used to send astronauts to the International Space Station.
SpaceX Delay Sentinel-6 Just Like GPS III Generation Satellite
SpaceX has also delayed the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite mission initially set on November 10, 2020. This has been reset on 21 November 2020 from the Vandenberg Airbase, California. Tim Dunn, NASA launch services program director revealed that SpaceX was working on a rocket gas generator issue that prevented the initial mission from being executed.
According to NASA, Space x was taking advantage of the delay to inspect the Falcon 9 as well as finish the Merlin engine testing. It was then concluded that they would replace two engines of the Sentinel-6 rocket first stage.