Boeing Gps Iif Satellite

4th boeing gps iif space vehicle arrives at florida launch site.

Boeing gps iif satellite.

Deliver sustained reliable gps capabilities to america s warfighters our allies and civil users. The gps receiver needs 4 satellites to work out your position in 3 dimensions. The company has constructed more than 40 gps satellites that cumulatively have provided more than 540 years of on orbit service. The block iif satellites of the gps fleet are built by boeing and are based on the as 4000 satellite bus.

They are the final component of the block ii gps constellation to be launched. The vehicles have a liftoff mass of 1 630 kilograms and are equipped with two deployable three panel solar arrays for power generation. The first block iif space vehicle was launched in may 2010 on a delta iv rocket. Gps iif is the product of boeing s long legacy with gps capabilities dating back to the first gps satellite program in 1974.

The constellation requires a minimum of 24 operational satellites and the official target count is 33. On february 5 2016 the final satellite in the iif block was successfully launch. But one of the most important steps they take can be measured in single numbers. The global positioning system iif is a current iteration of the gps satellite which boeing began building in 1978.

Rotating 220 miles 354 km above earth is the international space station where boeing provides a safe environment for more than 200 experiments. The gps iif delivers improved accuracy greater security and anti jam capabilities while maintaining baseline legacy gps performance. The block iif series are follow on satellites developed by boeing. The satellite bus is 2 49 by 2 03 by 2 24 meters in size.

The satellite has a mass of 1 630 kilograms 3 600 lb and a design life of 12 years. Gps provides positioning navigation and timing service to civil and military users worldwide. In 1996 the gps iif contract was awarded to the boeing company for the development and production of 33 space vehicles svs. Gps satellites circle earth at a distance of 11 000 nautical miles.

As the prime contractor on the gps block i block ii block iia and block iif programs boeing has built 40 of the 62 gps satellites launched since 1978. The twelfth and final iif launch was february 5 2016. They were built by boeing to be operated by the united states air force being launched by united launch alliance using evolved expendable launch vehicles. Since the first launch in 1978 boeing built gps satellites have accumulated the equivalent of more than 500 years of on orbit operation.