{"id":138018,"date":"2024-12-17T11:50:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T04:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138018"},"modified":"2024-12-17T11:50:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T04:50:06","slug":"spacex-launches-u-s-space-force-rapid-response-gps-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138018","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launches U.S. Space Force \u2018rapid response\u2019 GPS mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 In a mission veiled in secrecy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Dec. 16 at 7:52 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, sending a military Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite to a medium orbit about 12,000 miles above Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Named Rapid Response Trailblazer-1 (RRT-1), this mission was a U.S. national security space launch and was also intended to demonstrate military capabilities to condense a typical two-year mission planning cycle to less than six months.<\/p>\n<p>RRT-1 was originally scheduled to lift off Dec. 13 but the launch was scrubbed due to high winds. This was SpaceX\u2019s 126th launch of 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>About eight minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster returned and landed on a drone ship. SpaceX ended the livestream after the booster landing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Switch from Vulcan to Falcon 9<\/h2>\n<p>The payload, GPS III SV-07, is the seventh satellite of the GPS III constellation, built by Lockheed Martin. The satellite had been previously slated for a late 2025 launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket but was reassigned to a SpaceX Falcon 9 this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe decided to pull SV-07 out of storage and try to get it to the launch pad as quickly as possible,\u201d Col. James Horne, senior materiel leader for launch execution at the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command, told <em>SpaceNews<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s our way of demonstrating that we can be responsive to operator needs with NSSL-class missions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NSSL is the National Security Space Launch program that launches high-value military and intelligence satellites.<\/p>\n<p>In a departure from most other NSSL missions, the Space Force and SpaceX maintained a low profile around launch preparations, with SpaceX only announcing the RRT-1 launch on Dec. 13 without disclosing its status as a GPS and national security space mission.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to accelerate the launch of SV-07 was made in mid-2024 when uncertainty around the Vulcan rocket\u2019s readiness led Space Force leaders to reassess their options. Horne emphasized that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the NSSL program\u2019s flexibility. \u201cThis is a way for us to demonstrate to adversaries that we can be responsive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket is still awaiting official certification to launch NSSL missions. The vehicle was originally assigned three GPS III launches \u2014 SV-07, SV-08 and SV-09 \u2014 and SpaceX got SV-10.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Horne said the satellites have been remanifested. Because SV-07 was reassigned to SpaceX, ULA will get to launch SV-10.<\/p>\n<p>Walt Lauderdale, chief of Falcon systems and operations at the Space Systems Command, said SpaceX\u2019s familiarity with the GPS III program was instrumental in pulling off this mission on a short timeline. The company had previously launched five GPS III satellites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur typical launch campaign is a 24-month cycle,\u201d said Lauderdale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Horne stressed that the goal of the RRT-1 mission was far more than just launching a GPS. It\u2019s also about the Space Force learning how to be more adaptive. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re calling it a trailblazer mission,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to send a message to an adversary that if a GPS asset were targeted, the United States would be able to get another one up quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Space Force has previously launched \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/after-setting-new-record-for-responsive-launch-space-force-eyes-next-challenge\/\">tactically responsive<\/a>\u201d space missions using small satellites and small launch vehicles. The RRT-1 mission was intended to prove that the rapid deployment approach can be applied to larger, more complex national security payloads like GPS.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-510177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spacenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SV07-Travel-4-PIRA-Approved-copy-1024x683.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A truck carrying the GPS III SV-07 spacecraft is seen departing from a Lockheed Martin facility in Colorado to begin an epic road trip across the country to Florida. Credit: Lockheed Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of the Space Force\u2019s Mission Delta 31, highlighted another critical objective of RRT-1: testing the ability to respond quickly to an unexpected technical failure in the GPS constellation. While the current 31 active satellites are in good health, many are older than the military service members who manage them daily.<\/p>\n<p>Mission Delta 31, based in Colorado, operates the GPS constellation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are absolutely interested in every opportunity to update the constellation,\u201d Menschner said. \u201cPutting up a new satellite helps add resiliency to the system.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Being able to pull off a GPS launch as quickly as was done with SV-07, he said, \u201cis good news for the world that relies on GPS every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SV-07 had been sitting at a Lockheed Martin warehouse in Colorado since being declared <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssc.spaceforce.mil\/Newsroom\/Article-Display\/Article\/2744342\/space-systems-command-declares-three-gps-iii-space-vehicles-available-for-launch\">launch-ready in August 2021<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In preparation for RRT-1, Mission Delta 31 and Lockheed Martin worked to modify SV-07\u2019s payload interface so it could launch on a Falcon 9 instead of a Vulcan rocket. This interface, called payload launch adapter, connects the spacecraft to the rocket.<\/p>\n<p>Once completed, the satellite was transported on a flatbed truck from Lockheed Martin\u2019s location in Colorado to SpaceX\u2019s integration facility at Cape Canaveral. Normally, military aircraft would handle such transfers, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/3927891\/helene-relief-efforts-ncang-delivers-450000-pounds-of-cargo-and-counting\/\">Hurricane Helene recovery<\/a> efforts had tied up those resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was probably one of the biggest obstacles,\u201d said Malik Musawwir, vice president of navigation systems at Lockheed Martin Space. \u201cAnd then from there, it was off to the races.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The satellite\u2019s journey from Littleton, Colorado, to Cape Canaveral posed unique logistical challenges, Musawwir said. With C-17 military cargo aircraft unavailable, planners conducted a ground survey to find the best route for transporting the satellite over highways. The multi-day drive required specialized equipment, including a climate-controlled container to protect the satellite from temperature and humidity changes, and shock absorbers to minimize vibrations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur teams worked tirelessly to ensure the satellite\u2019s safety during transit,\u201d Musawwir said. The container carrying SV-07 traveled on a truck in a caravan with a military escort and a backup vehicle in case of any issues.<\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/spacex-launches-u-s-space-force-rapid-response-gps-mission\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 In a mission veiled in secrecy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Dec. 16 at 7:52 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, sending a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138018\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}