Tag: Stephen A. Hobbs

U.S. Launches Final GPS III Satellite

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Combat Forces Command (CFC) successfully launches the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Global Positioning System (GPS) III-8 mission with the final GPS III satellite, Space Vehicle 10 (SV-10), into medium Earth orbit (MEO) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on April 21, 2026. SSC’s System Delta 80 (SYD 80), which manages the NSSL program for Space Access, provided the critical mission assurance to safely deliver SV-10, working in closer partnership with CFC’s Mission Delta 31 (MD 31), to complete the GPS III program, marking 32 active satellites in the constellation. SV-10 provides the current constellation an additional satellite equipped with M-code technology, which provides GPS capabilities to the warfighter that are three-times more accurate and eight times more resistant to jamming than the previous constellation | Photo: SpaceX

The U.S. Space Force has launched the final GPS III satellite, completing a 32-satellite constellation. The GPS III-8 mission includes new technologies such as optical crosslinks and improved timing systems to support military and civilian navigation services worldwide.