spacetoday.net: SpaceX launches GPS satellite

Posted: Sat, Nov 7, 2020, 7:56 AM ET (1256 GMT)
Falcon 9 launch of GPS 3 SV04 (SpaceX)

SpaceX launched a GPS 3 satellite Thursday, a month after a last-second abort during a previous launch attempt. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:24 pm EST (2324 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, releasing the GPS 3 SV04 spacecraft into orbit nearly 90 minutes later. The launch was originally scheduled for Oct. 2 but aborted seconds before liftoff because of a problem with the rocket's first-stage engines. The success of the launch should clear the way for the Crew-1 commercial crew mission for NASA scheduled for Nov. 14. The launch was the third GPS mission for SpaceX under the National Security Space Launch program. The company is under contract to launch two more GPS 3 satellites next year, and will use previously flown boosters for those missions.