SHEPHERDING A NEW ERA OF GPS SATELLITES TO ORBIT

SHEPHERDING A NEW ERA OF GPS SATELLITES TO ORBIT
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A cadre of military and industry workers at the Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station is readying the first-of-its-kind satellite for the Global
Positioning System, an advanced bird that will be shipped to the launch
pad and bolted atop a Delta 4 rocket next week.

http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/100429cleanroom/

"All in all, the 2F is improved performance, better anti-jam and it's
got additional civil signals to help aviation," said Brown.

Choreographing the GPS 2F-1 satellite preparations at the Cape is the
45th Launch Support Squadron, a team of 75 people making certain that a
healthy spacecraft gets to orbit safely.

"Traditionally, out of the entire lifetime of the satellite, the year
leading up to and including launching the satellite is by far the
highest risk area," said Capt. Matt Hale, the squadron's GPS section chief.