Air Force launches new GPS IIR satellite
The U.S. Air Force has launched GPS IIR-14 (M), the first of eight modernized GPS IIR satellites that are being worked on by Lockheed Martin. The satellites have all sorts of wonderful encryption and anti-jamming technology for the military, but since we can't think of the last time we tried to disrupt anyone's GPS usage for tactical reasons, we're just happy to get some better coverage. Lockheed claims that the new satellites should provide "significantly improved navigation performance" for civilians (always a good thing) and will also add a whole second frequency for our usage. The launch of IIR-14 (M) will bump the number of GPS satellites in orbit to 29 and it seems like we'll soon have even fewer excuses to get "lost" on the way to our Cousin Vinnie's birthday party with seven more IIRs on the way.
[Via The Raw Feed]
