🚀 Falcon 9 | 🛰 GPS III SV08
Launch date: May 30, 2025 17:37 UTC
Payload: GPS III SV08
Location: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Vehicle: Falcon 9
On May 30, 2025, SpaceX successfully launched the U.S. Space Force’s GPS III SV08 satellite, also known as GPS III-7 and nicknamed “Ms. Creola Katherine Johnson,” aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, at 17:37 UTC. The expedited National Security Space Launch compressed integration and launch timelines to just three months, 40% faster than the previous rapid launch (RRT-1), highlighting SpaceX’s rapid turnaround capability and the U.S. Space Force’s ability to accelerate critical missions. The advanced GPS III SV08 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin and named after NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, features enhanced M-code technology, supporting improved accuracy, resilience, and resistance to jamming and spoofing. The Falcon 9 booster B1092 landed successfully on ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This mission advances modernization of the GPS constellation, bolstering U.S. navigation and timing services for military and civilian users and enabling simultaneous system-wide updates, with two more GPS III satellites to follow.
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SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) is a historic launch site located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Built in the 1960s, it was originally used for Titan III and Titan IV launches, supporting a variety of military, intelligence, and interplanetary missions. After a period of inactivity, SpaceX leased and extensively modified SLC-40 in the 2000s to launch Falcon 9 rockets.
Since becoming operational for SpaceX in 2010, SLC-40 has become a principal hub for commercial, governmental, and crewed missions aboard Falcon 9. The pad has seen dozens of launches annually, significantly contributing to America’s presence in space exploration, satellite deployment, and servicing the International Space Station.