Talkin' 'Bout Next Generation: IIF
February 15, 2010The first IIF satellite destined for orbit, GPS SV-1, boarded an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft in Los Angeles early Friday morning, February 12, for its trip to the Navstar Processing Facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It arrived safely (see photo) and is now undergoing preparations for its launch this summer on a Delta IV rocket.
The new IIF generation, of which this is the torch-bearer, will broadcast the operational civil L5 signal, initially secured by test broadcast of the signal by a IIR(M) satellite last year. Built by Boeing, the satellite has a longer design life of 12 years, and faster processors with more memory. It is to be followed by 11 more IIF satellites before the GPS constellation shifts into higher gear with the GPS III generation.
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