The second modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite designed and built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been declared fully operational for military and civilian navigation users worldwide, marking the culmination of a successful on-orbit deployment and check-out phase that allowed the spacecraft to begin service ahead of schedule.
Launched last month from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the GPS Block IIR-15(M) is the second in a series of eight Block IIR-M spacecraft that Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems is developing for its customer, the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
The third GPS Block IIR-M satellite is scheduled for liftoff on Nov. 14 from Cape Canaveral.