AF Launches 17th Satellite in Navstar Series
The Air Force on Friday launched an unmanned rocket that carried into space the 17th in a series of advanced navigation satellites.
The launch had been scheduled for Wednesday but was scrubbed at the last minute because of a malfunctioning fuel gauge. A leaky kerosene tank on the launch pad postponed a planned liftoff Thursday.
An electronic glitch delayed the launch Friday by 12 minutes. The Delta rocket blasted off at 5:16 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The $65-million Navstar Global Positioning System satellite is capable of pinpointing the location of receiver-equipped individuals within 50 feet. U.S. military forces relied heavily on Navstar satellites during the Persian Gulf War.
The satellites contain atomic clocks with an error rate of one second every 300,000 years.
Air Force officials eventually want 24 advanced Navstars in orbit 12,500 miles high. The first in the series was launched in 1989. No. 16 was launched on Nov. 22.
Besides the military, satellite users include barge operators, surveyors, seismologists and firefighters.
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