SpaceX F9 : GPS III SV06 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 18 January 2023 (12:24 UTC)

[jcm]

"In its launch configuration fully fueled with propellant, the satellite weighs 9,595 pounds (4,352 kilograms), according to Col. Jung Ha, senior materiel leader for the GPS Space Vehicles Acquisition Delta at Space Systems Command."
https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/01/17/gps-navigation-satellite-set-for-launch-on-spacex-rocket/

 - Ed Kyle

which, just to note, is much larger than the (clearly incorrect) mass stated by Sawyer on the NSF front page article.

[gongora]

which, just to note, is much larger than the (clearly incorrect) mass stated by Sawyer on the NSF front page article.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1615760974224699396

Falcon 9 lifts off with GPS III SV06 this morning

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/ussf_ssc/status/1615762850152161280

🚀 SUCCESS! 🚀 Liftoff of the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying #SpaceSystemsCommand’s GPSIII-SV06. Congratulations to our entire team of government and industry partners! @SpaceForceDoD

Read more:

https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Portals/3/Documents/PRESS%20RELEASES/U.S.%20Space%20Force%20successfully%20launches%20sixth%20GPS%20III%20satellite%20on%20Falcon%209.pdf?ver=-Vaebvu7NCiE9wQSdZimgg%3d%3d

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/trevormahlmann/status/1615753794238677018

Falcon 9 lifting off—nine minutes after sunrise—with the sixth GPS-III satellite for the @usairforce🚀🛰

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1615809279747031042

More photos of Falcon 9’s launch of GPS III → flickr.com/spacex

[GewoonLukas_]

GPS III SV06 cataloged in a 392 x 20163 km x 55.0 deg orbit, confirming successful launch.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1615797194530951171

[GWR64]

plane A, correct? RAAN ~202 deg.
https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/gp.php?INTDES=2023-009&FORMAT=tle

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1615844697636802562

Another mission success for Falcon 9!

SpaceX confirmed the 6th GPS III satellite has been deployed. Not even 3 full weeks into the year, and we’ve already seen 4 successful missions out of the Falcon family!

Mission overview: nasaspaceflight.com/2023/01/gps-ii…

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1615844706067582983

Got a weird lens flair going on, but I still dig the early morning light on Falcon 9.

[Targeteer]

Why is NAVSTAR still being used ?

55268    NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   2023-009A   356.53   55.01   20162   392

[Steven Pietrobon]

Why is NAVSTAR still being used ?

55268    NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   2023-009A   356.53   55.01   20162   392

Here's the full two-line elements.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/gp.php?INTDES=2023-009

NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   
1 55268U 23009A   23019.56958773  .00000203  00000+0  00000+0 0  9998
2 55268  55.0137 201.7698 5934866 270.2550  26.1276  4.03893074    40

I'm not sure why they are calling it NAVSTAR 82. By my count, only 78 GPS satellites have been launched.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/navstar.htm

11 GPS (1 launch failure)
9 GPS 2
19 GPS 2A
13 GPS 2R (1 launch failure)
8 GPS 2RM
12 GPS 2F
6 GPS 3

[ZachS09]

Why is NAVSTAR still being used ?

55268    NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   2023-009A   356.53   55.01   20162   392

Here's the full two-line elements.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/gp.php?INTDES=2023-009

NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   
1 55268U 23009A   23019.56958773  .00000203  00000+0  00000+0 0  9998
2 55268  55.0137 201.7698 5934866 270.2550  26.1276  4.03893074    40

I'm not sure why they are calling it NAVSTAR 82. By my count, only 78 GPS satellites have been launched.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/navstar.htm

11 GPS (1 launch failure)
9 GPS 2
19 GPS 2A
13 GPS 2R (1 launch failure)
8 GPS 2RM
12 GPS 2F
6 GPS 3

Maybe it's NAVSTAR 82 because that's the serial number of the satellite.

[Bean Kenobi]

Why is NAVSTAR still being used ?

55268    NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   2023-009A   356.53   55.01   20162   392

Here's the full two-line elements.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/gp.php?INTDES=2023-009

NAVSTAR 82 (USA 343)   
1 55268U 23009A   23019.56958773  .00000203  00000+0  00000+0 0  9998
2 55268  55.0137 201.7698 5934866 270.2550  26.1276  4.03893074    40

I'm not sure why they are calling it NAVSTAR 82. By my count, only 78 GPS satellites have been launched.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/navstar.htm

11 GPS (1 launch failure)
9 GPS 2
19 GPS 2A
13 GPS 2R (1 launch failure)
8 GPS 2RM
12 GPS 2F
6 GPS 3

Don't forget NTS 2 (the 1st Navstar program satellite) and the first Navstar 2 (not launched).

[Steven Pietrobon]

Don't forget NTS 2 (the 1st Navstar program satellite) and the first Navstar 2 (not launched).

The first block were NAVSTAR 1 to 11, so NTS 2 is not counted. For GPS 2, the count is from NAVSTAR 13 to 21, where NAVSTAR 12 is presumably the spacecraft that was not launched. Going through Gunter's list, it seems that NAVSTAR 79 to 81 haven't been launched yet, which explains the three missing spacecraft.

GPS: NAVSTAR 1 to 11
GPS 2: NAVSTAR 13 to 21
GPS 2A: NAVSTAR 22 to 40
GPS 2R: NAVSTAR 41 to 47, 51, 54, 56, 59 to 61
GPS 2RM: NAVSTAR 48 to 50, 52, 53,  55, 57, 58
GPS 2F: NAVSTAR 62 to 73
GPS 3: NAVSTAR 74 to 78, 82

[russianhalo117]

Don't forget NTS 2 (the 1st Navstar program satellite) and the first Navstar 2 (not launched).

The first block were NAVSTAR 1 to 11, so NTS 2 is not counted. For GPS 2, the count is from NAVSTAR 13 to 21, where NAVSTAR 12 is presumably the spacecraft that was not launched. Going through Gunter's list, it seems that NAVSTAR 79 to 81 haven't been launched yet, which explains the three missing spacecraft.

GPS: NAVSTAR 1 to 11
GPS 2: NAVSTAR 13 to 21
GPS 2A: NAVSTAR 22 to 40
GPS 2R: NAVSTAR 41 to 47, 51, 54, 56, 59 to 61
GPS 2RM: NAVSTAR 48 to 50, 52, 53,  55, 57, 58
GPS 2F: NAVSTAR 62 to 73
GPS 3: NAVSTAR 74 to 78, 82

NTS-2 (Navigation Technology Satellite 2, P76-4, Timation-4, Navstar P, NDS P, OPS 5110) was the first NAVSTAR GPS Phase I satellite later known as NAVSTAR Precursor was an experimental satellite using the prototype flight model of the spacecraft bus and payload module of NAVSTAR. GPS 1 (NAVSTAR 1, NDS 1, OPS 5111) and GPS 2 (NAVSTAR 2, NDS 2, OPS 5112) were known as NDS's (Navigational Development Satellites) only later being switched to operational use along with NTS-2 as a spectrum holding spare and can be equivalently compared to Galileo's GIOVE A(1), A2 (ground spare) (GSTB v2A) and GIOVE B(1), B2 (ground spare) (GSTB v2B) [Galileo System Test Bed | Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element] reserved spectrum securement scheme.

[GewoonLukas_]

Don't forget NTS 2 (the 1st Navstar program satellite) and the first Navstar 2 (not launched).

The first block were NAVSTAR 1 to 11, so NTS 2 is not counted. For GPS 2, the count is from NAVSTAR 13 to 21, where NAVSTAR 12 is presumably the spacecraft that was not launched. Going through Gunter's list, it seems that NAVSTAR 79 to 81 haven't been launched yet, which explains the three missing spacecraft.

GPS: NAVSTAR 1 to 11
GPS 2: NAVSTAR 13 to 21
GPS 2A: NAVSTAR 22 to 40
GPS 2R: NAVSTAR 41 to 47, 51, 54, 56, 59 to 61
GPS 2RM: NAVSTAR 48 to 50, 52, 53,  55, 57, 58
GPS 2F: NAVSTAR 62 to 73
GPS 3: NAVSTAR 74 to 78, 82

Actually Navstar 79 to 81 have been launched:

GPS III SV01: Navstar 77
GPS III SV02: Navstar 78
GPS III SV03: Navstar 79
GPS III SV04: Navstar 80
GPS III SV05: Navstar 81
GPS III SV06: Navstar 82

[GWR64]

GPS-III-1 for example is SVN 74, but Navstar 77.
This difference may have arisen at some point with the GPS-IIA or GPS-IIR(M) launched in wild order. I haven't figured it out. The SVN-74 says this is the 74th GPS satellite built, including the GPS-II prototype. That fits.
This Navstar number is completely useless. The SVN # will be used later.

later, puzzle:
Navstar 40, 41, 42 are missing.
SVN-43, the first successfully launched GPS IIR-2, became Navstar-43 .
One of the missing Navstar numbers would be SVN-42 (GPS-IIR 1), which was lost at launch.
The other two, are probably SVN-38 (GPS IIA-19, Navstar 44) and SVN-41 (GPS IIR-6, Navstar 49), witch  launched later.
Another jump arises because there is no Navstar-45.
The successor to SVN-38 (Navstar-44), SVN-46 (GPS IIR-3) became Navstar-46. 

https://celestrak.org/satcat/table-satcat.php?NAME=NAVSTAR&MAX=500
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GPS_satellites

I'm not sure if that's a full explanation though.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1616818076204269568

Doug arrived at Port Canaveral overnight carrying two fairing halves recovered during the GPS III-6 mission!

nsf.live/spacecoast

[Skyrocket]

Don't forget NTS 2 (the 1st Navstar program satellite) and the first Navstar 2 (not launched).

The first block were NAVSTAR 1 to 11, so NTS 2 is not counted. For GPS 2, the count is from NAVSTAR 13 to 21, where NAVSTAR 12 is presumably the spacecraft that was not launched. Going through Gunter's list, it seems that NAVSTAR 79 to 81 haven't been launched yet, which explains the three missing spacecraft.

GPS: NAVSTAR 1 to 11
GPS 2: NAVSTAR 13 to 21
GPS 2A: NAVSTAR 22 to 40
GPS 2R: NAVSTAR 41 to 47, 51, 54, 56, 59 to 61
GPS 2RM: NAVSTAR 48 to 50, 52, 53,  55, 57, 58
GPS 2F: NAVSTAR 62 to 73
GPS 3: NAVSTAR 74 to 78, 82

Ooops, my list has mixed up SVN and Navstar numbers.
Please ignore the Navstar numbers on my site - these are currently NOT correct.

I'll update the lists later today with the correct numbers.

[Skyrocket]

Ooops, my list has mixed up SVN and Navstar numbers.
Please ignore the Navstar numbers on my site - these are currently NOT correct.

I'll update the lists later today with the correct numbers.

Now i have uploaded the GPS lists with updated SVN an Navstar numbers.
Shame on me that i did not notice this mistake for so long.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sat/gps.htm