GPS III SV04 (Falcon 9)
5 November 2020
Space Launch Complex 40
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Global Positioning System III Space Vehicle 04 (GPS III SV04) into orbit for the U.S. Space Force from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:24 p.m. on 5 November 2020. Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the builder Lockheed Martin, the GPS III satellites feature:

  • Three times better accuracy
  • Up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities
  • A new L1C civil signal, which is compatible with international global navigation satellite systems, like Europe's Galileo, to improve civilian user connectivity
A time exposure of the launch as seen from the Wabasso Causeway looking north up the Indian River Lagoon. The small orange streak above the horizon at right is the entry burn of the first stage as it made its way to a successful landing about eight minutes after launch on the droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
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