Delta 4 rocket blasts off, carrying Global Positioning System satellite into space

Delta 4 rocket blasts off on GPS mission

ORLANDO, Fla. — After several day’s delay due to technical issues, a Delta 4 rocket rumbled into the sky Thursday evening from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral carrying a GPS satellite. Officials said the military craft would be used for national security and navigation.

The craft is the first of a new generation of Global Positioning System satellites going into orbit. There will be a dozen such Boeing-built satellites launched over the next several years to replace 20-year-old satellites now in service.

This will be the first GPS mission to launch on a Delta 4, after 49 missions launched atop the smaller Delta 2 between 1989 and 2009. Future GPS spacecraft will be lifted into orbit on the Delta 4, on the Atlas 4 and on ULA’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.