Success
GPS IIA-18
Navigation
United States Air Force(USAF)Government
Delta II 7925
MEOorbit
GPS-2A (Global Positioning System) or Navstar-2A (Navigation System using Timing And ranging) are improved satellites of the second generation of the GPS navigation system.
Thursday, September 12, 1996 at 8:49 AM
Mission details
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radio navigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
Feb 22, 1978 — ongoing
Orbital Attempt
#4,101
USAF Mission
#969
Pad Launch
#109
Location Launch
#519
Designator
1996-056
Launch Window
NET
Sep 12, 1996, 8:49 AM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Delta II 7925 Specs
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 variants ("Light" and "Heavy"). The rocket flew its final mission ICESat-2 on 15 September 2018, earning the launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row, with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997.
Length
39 m
Diameter
2.44 m
Launch Mass
219 t
Thrust
3,790 kN
LEO Capacity
3,981 kg
GTO Capacity
1,446 kg
SSO Capacity
3,017 kg
Launch Cost
$51M
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1990
Fastest Turnaround
15d 19h
Total Launches
1
Successful
1
Failed
0
Consecutive Success
1
Maiden flight: Feb 14, 1990
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.
Founded
1947
Administrator
Commander-in-Chief: President of the US
Total Launches
1,078
Successful
972
Failed
106
Pending
0
Consecutive Success
68
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Sep 12, 1996, 4:49 AM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778