USA-239, also known as GPS IIF-3, GPS SVN-65, and Navstar-67 is an American
navigation satellite
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pre ...
which forms part of the
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
. It was the third of twelve
Block IIF satellites to be launched.
Built by
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
and launched by
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, ...
, USA-239 was launched at 12:10 UTC on 4 October 2012, atop a
Delta IV
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, t ...
carrier rocket, flight number D361, flying in the Medium+(4,2) configuration.
The launch took place from
Space Launch Complex 37B at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
,
and placed USA-239 directly into
medium Earth orbit
A medium Earth orbit (MEO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an altitude above a low Earth orbit (LEO) and below a high Earth orbit (HEO) – between above sea level. .
The rocket's second stage failed to provide the expected full thrust in all of its three burns due to a leak above the narrow throat portion of the thrust chamber, however the stage had enough propellant margins to put the satellite in the correct orbit.
As of 18 February 2014, USA-239 was in an orbit with a
perigee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ell ...
of , an
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ell ...
of , a
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
of 717.96 minutes, and 54.87 degrees of
inclination
Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object.
For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...
to the equator.
It is used to broadcast the PRN 24 signal, and operates in slot 1 of plane A of the GPS constellation. The satellite has a design life of 15 years and a mass of .
As of 2019 it remains in service.
References
Spacecraft launched in 2012
GPS satellites
USA satellites
Spacecraft launched by Delta IV rockets
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