The SpaceX Falcon 9 missile with GPS III satellite navigation satellite SV01 for the USAF stands at the launch site of Cape Canaveral station in Florida on December 22, 2018
Representatives of SpaceX stated that the launch of the missile with a navigation satellite for the US Air Force had to be canceled on December 22 because of strong winds and delayed the start for 24 hours.
The Falcon 9 rocket was literally preparing to take off with the GPS III SV01 satellite (the first of a new generation of American navigation satellites) from the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, when they decided to postpone the launch for a day. Controllers tracked the movement of strong winds throughout the countdown. The next attempt will be made on December 23. It is worth recalling that SpaceX tried to launch a navigation satellite on December 18, but there was an unexpected failure at the first stage (data from the sensor), which made it necessary to conduct a two-day test. On December 20, the start was also postponed due to bad weather.
The GPS III SV01 satellite was created by Lockheed Martin and is considered the first representative of a new batch of ultra-accurate navigation constellations for use by US military and civilians. It resembles an SUV in size and should replace the outdated SVN-43 GPS, which has been in operation since July 1997. This should be the last SpaceX mission this year.
