At 20:24 on January 18, 2023, Beijing time, the Falcon 9 carrier rocket carrying the third-generation GPS satellite 6 (GPS 3 SV06) was launched from the SLC-40 station at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida, sending the satellite into the medium Earth transfer orbit (MTO), and the satellite will eventually climb to an altitude of 20,200 kilometers on its own. Medium Earth orbit (MEO) with an inclination of 55 degrees.
Developed by Lockheed Martin, the GPS 3 SV-06 satellite uses the LM-2100 platform, has a launch mass of 4352 kg, a design life of 15 years, and emits L-band navigation signals, including interoperable L1C signals. Third-generation GPS satellites can maintain precise positioning in the event of a cyberattack. It is the sixth of the third generation GPS satellite and the fifth Falcon 9 rocket launch since December 2018.
This launch is the second flight mission of the Falcon 9 core first module (B1077.2), which has previously carried out the Crew-5 "Dragon" manned spacecraft launch mission. After the separation of the first and second stages, the core stage landed on the unmanned target ship "Lack of State" moored in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch is the third Falcon 9 rocket launch in 2023, the fourth launch of Cape Canaveral Space Force Base (CCSFS) this year, the sixth launch of American space and the 11th launch of world space this year. So far, in the first 18 days of 2023, SpaceX has performed 4 launches, an average of 1/4.5 days, and the launch density needs to be greatly increased if it is to achieve the target of 100 launches this year.
Author: Dabai Gao Guo