GPS Lift-Off

The Air Force successfully launched its 10th Global Positioning System IIF satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida.

The Boeing-built satellite lifted off at 11:36 a.m., the front end of its launch window. It flew on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The Air Force has just two more GPS IIF satellites in storage. The next will be launched in October and the last satellite next February.

Inside the Air Force reported last month that Senate appropriators are calling for two cost and requirements reviews of the next-generation GPS:

In the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee's mark of the fiscal year 2016 defense spending bill, which the full committee approved June 11, lawmakers directed the cost assessment and program evaluation office and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to "review the cost of and validate the requirements for" the Air Force's plan to accelerate the GPS III launch schedule. The panel is concerned that launching satellites too early could cause a capability gap if the new ground segment is not yet operational.