Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne celebrated 50 years of powering Delta-family rockets into orbit with the successful launch of the first NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF military navigation satellite on May 27.
The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's RS-68 and RL10 engines providing booster and upper-stage propulsion, respectively. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies company.
"From the first Echo 1 satellite 50 years ago, to the first GPS Block IIF satellite, we are proud to have been part of the Delta-family's heritage in boosting satellites so vital to worldwide communication, navigation, research and weather prediction, as well as our own national security," said Craig Stoker, RS-68 program manager, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne.
"We look forward to working with United Launch Alliance over the next 50 years of powering rockets into space."
"Our company is proud to have been able to provide reliable propulsion for this important mission," said Christine Cooley, RL10 program manager, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. "By successfully boosting the GPS satellite, our engines played a significant role in increasing communications capabilities worldwide."
The Block IIF is the first in a series of 12 new GPS satellites designed to improve navigational accuracy for civil, commercial and defense applications worldwide. Block IIF features more capability and improved mission performance, including predicted signal accuracy that is two times greater than heritage satellites; a 12-year lifespan that provides longer service and reduced operating costs; and a military signal for better resistance to jamming in hostile conflict areas.
In August 1960, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne helped launch a Delta rocket carrying Echo 1, which was used to redirect transcontinental and intercontinental telephone, radio and television signals.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
