Skip to main content

Watch: SpaceX launching GPS III Space Vehicle 4 satellite with improved anti-jamming and accuracy

SpaceX will attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this evening at 6:24 p.m. EST. SpaceX is sending the GPS III Space Vehicle 4 to space to join a constellation of over 30 existing global positioning system satellites operated by the United States.

Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt to land on the SpaceX droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes 35 seconds after liftoff. The GPS III satellite payload will be deployed in space 1 hour and 29 minutes after liftoff. 

Watch the launch, landing, and deployment below.

What to know

  • Lockheed Martin produces the GPS III for the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center
  • GPS III touts three times more accuracy and eight times improved anti-jamming capability than the previous generation system
  • GPS III Space Vehicle 3 Mission has a 15 minute launch window from 6:24 to 6:39 p.m. EST

How to watch

Falcon 9 launch coverage will begin 15 minutes before liftoff today:

Space Explored is also on site in Cape Canaveral with our own livestream and analysis:

More

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.