Trending Now - Spacex Completes GPS III Launch Amid Air Force Contract Changes
WHO:
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - USSF Col. Stephen Hobbs, Mission Delta 31 (MD 31) commander, stated, “Today marks an important milestone for our unit and for the entire GPS enterprise. As we prepare to launch the final satellite in the GPS III block, we’re closing out a chapter that has defined the last several years of work for this team.”
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - Anne Mason, SpaceX’s director of its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) division, noted, “So that was a huge benefit for us and for the Space Force team to take advantage of that from a mission assurance perspective.”
[2:53:25 a.m. EDT] - Spaceflight Now - U.S. Space Force, SpaceX, USSF Col. Stephen Hobbs, Anne Mason, Fang Qian, USSF Col. Ryan Hiserote
[April 17th, 2026] - Techmeme - RTX Corp.
WHAT:
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The GPS III SV10 satellite is named ‘Hedy Lamar’ after the Austrian-American actress and inventor.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The mission represented the fourth time SpaceX carried a GPS satellite originally assigned to United Launch Alliance (ULA) as part of the NSSL Phase 2 contract.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - ULA will fly the USSF-70 mission on a Vulcan rocket in 2028, which was originally set to fly on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - SpaceX launched the final Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite, designated Space Vehicle 10 (SV10) and named ‘Hedy Lamar’.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The GPS III-8 mission was delayed by one day due to poor weather conditions.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage booster B1095 completed its seventh flight.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The GPS III-8 SV10 satellite will join a fleet of 38 spacecraft in medium Earth orbit, with 32 currently active.
[April 17th, 2026] - Techmeme - The U.S. Air Force canceled RTX Corp.'s ground-control network for the next generation of GPS satellites.
WHERE:
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - Launch occurred at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The Falcon 9 booster landed on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ in the Atlantic Ocean.
WHEN:
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - Liftoff occurred at 2:53:25 a.m. EDT (0653:25 UTC).
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The satellite will raise its orbit over a period of 10 days after deployment.
[April 17th, 2026] - Techmeme - The cancellation of RTX's ground-control network was announced on April 17th, 2026.
WHY:
[April 17th, 2026] - Techmeme - The cancellation was due to years of delays and cost overruns associated with the ground-control network.
HOW:
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The GPS III SV10 satellite carries a new digital atomic clock for better precision as another technology demonstration.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The GPS III SV10 satellite was encapsulated in two halves of the payload fairing, with one half flying for a second time and the other for a third time.
[April 20th, 2026] - Spaceflight Now - The mission included an optical cross-link demonstration, a laser communications system being tested for future GPS IIIF satellites.
(UPDATED April 21, 2026 17:21 UTC)
on Monday, USSF Colonel Stephen Hobbs announced the upcoming launch of the final satellite in the GPS III block, marking a significant milestone for the unit and the entire GPS enterprise. The GPS III SV10 satellite, named ‘Hedy Lamar’ after the renowned actress and inventor, will be launched by SpaceX, which has now carried GPS satellites originally assigned to United Launch Alliance four times under the NSSL Phase 2 contract. This satellite also features a new digital atomic clock designed to enhance precision, showcasing advancements in technology for the mission.
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(UPDATED April 21, 2026 15:23 UTC)
on Monday, SpaceX successfully launched the final Global Positioning System III satellite, named Hedy Lamar, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with liftoff occurring at 2:53:25 a.m. EDT. The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage booster completed its seventh flight and landed on the drone ship 'Just Read the Instructions' in the Atlantic Ocean, while the new satellite will join a fleet of 38 spacecraft in medium Earth orbit. Just three days earlier, on Friday, the U.S. Air Force announced the cancellation of RTX Corp.'s ground-control network for the next generation of GPS satellites due to years of delays and cost overruns.