U. S. Space Force Field Commands successfully launch GPS III Space Vehicle 09 into orbit
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Jan. 27, 2026 at 11:53 p.m. EST (8:53 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, carrying the Lockheed Martin-built Global Positioning System (GPS) III-9 SV09 satellite into Earth orbit for the U.S. Space Force. The GPS satellite is named in honor of NASA astronaut Col. Ellison Onizuka, an accomplished U.S. Air Force flight test engineer, science and technology leader and astronaut from Kealakekua, Hawai’i who flew on the STS-51C space shuttle Discovery mission before perishing in the Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger disaster 40 years ago. (Photo credit: SpaceX)
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