WASHINGTON — SpaceX is gearing up to launch a Global Positioning System satellite for the U.S. military on May 30 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, marking another high-profile national security mission that shifted from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan to the Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch of GPS III SV-08 — the eighth satellite in the GPS III constellation — was originally assigned to United Launch Alliance (ULA) but was switched to SpaceX as the military prioritizes getting advanced anti-jamming capabilities into orbit as quickly as possible. The move comes as GPS signals face increasing threats from both nation-state actors and inadvertent commercial interference.
This marks the second consecutive GPS III satellite to be switched from ULA to SpaceX, following December’s launch of GPS III SV-07. ULA’s Vulcan, which received certification to launch national security missions, continues to face delays and has accumulated a backlog of military launches.
Officials said the Space Force worked with SpaceX and GPS manufacturer Lockheed Martin to accelerate the schedule in order to get the more advanced GPS satellites into orbit.
In a press call May 28, Space Force officials said the mission was executed on an unusually accelerated timeline. Launch planning for GPS III SV-08 kicked off in February, with Lockheed Martin receiving a formal request on February 21 and SpaceX following on March 7 — just under three months ahead of liftoff. That’s an extraordinary pace for a national security launch, they said, which typically takes 18 to 24 months from contract award.
The urgency stems from growing threats to the Global Positioning System. GPS signals have become increasingly targeted by jamming and spoofing, both by hostile nation-states and commercial sources. Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of Mission Delta 31, explained the strategic rationale behind the push to get GPS III SV-08 on orbit quickly.
“There are today 38 GPS satellites in orbit, 31 of which operate on a daily basis,” Menschner said. “We have a healthy redundancy in the constellation. But the addition of SV-08 allows the constellation to build resistance against those who would try to interfere with GPS signals.”
More secure GPS for military and civilians
The GPS III series is the most advanced generation of satellites, offering nearly eight times the anti-jamming capability of previous versions. These satellites also broadcast M-code — a hardened, military-only signal — an L5, a new civilian signal operating in a frequency band reserved for aviation safety.
SV-08 will be the 26th M-code capable satellite and the 19th to broadcast the L5 signal. “Over 1,100 commercial flights a day are impacted by GPS interference and jamming,” Menschner said. “We are looking forward to unlocking that capability with the delivery of OCX later this fall.”
The OCX ground system — short for Operational Control Segment — is a long-delayed but vital piece of infrastructure that will fully enable the M-code and L5 signals. Once online, it will bolster both defense operations and civilian aviation safety.
Lessons for the future
One reason the Space Force was able to pivot quickly between launch providers is GPS’s design flexibility. “We benefited first and foremost from the foresight of the GPS three program to be qualified on multiple launch vehicle providers,” Menschner said. “That’s a tremendous lesson learned that we’re passing on.”
This adaptability isn’t typical across the national security space fleet, but the GPS III program is emerging as a model of how to build in agility, he said.
Walt Lauderdale, mission director and chief of Falcon systems at Space Systems Command, noted that SV-08 was originally slated for launch in late 2025. “So this allowed us to get the M-code up a little bit sooner,” he said.
Looking ahead, Vulcan is still expected to handle the final two GPS III missions, along with the debut flight of the next-generation GPS IIIF satellite. For now, said Lauderdale, there are no additional GPS launch reassignments planned.