spacetoday.net: Delta 2 launches GPS satellite

Delta 2 launches GPS satellite

Posted: Tue, Mar 24, 2009, 9:42 PM ET (0142 GMT)
Delta 2 launch of GPS 2R-20(M) (ULA)

A Delta 2 rocket successfully placed a new navigation satellite into orbit Tuesday morning. The Delta 2 7925 lifted off from pad 17A at Cape Canaveral on schedule at 4:34 am EDT (0834 GMT). Its payload, the GPS 2R-20(M) satellite, separated from the Delta's upper stage 68 minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft, the 47th GPS satellite launched by a Delta 2 in the rocket's 20-year history, will replacing an aging satellite in the navigation satellite constellation. The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft is the next to last in the Block 2R series of GPS spacecraft; the first in the new series, Block 2F, is scheduled for launch at the end of this year.