Delta IV GPS IIF-01 launch set May 20

The U.S. Air Force will launch the first Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 37 here May 20. The launch window is 11:29-11:48 p.m. (EDT).

The GPS IIF system brings next-generation performance to the constellation. The GPS IIF vehicle is critical to U.S. national security and sustaining GPS constellation availability for global civil, commercial and defense applications.

Besides sustaining the GPS constellation, IIF features increased capability and improved mission performance and longevity.

This is a mission of several important firsts. Not only is it the first IIF to be launched, this will be the first GPS satellite to ride on the Delta IV launch vehicle.

The launch will be the first following the 50th anniversary of the Delta Program, May 13.