The final Delta II GPS rocket was launched on Monday, ending one of the most successful space launch programs in American history.
The launch was the 48th successful GPS mission in the program which began in 1989. Following the launch, the Air Force plans to retire the 1st Space Launch Squadron.
Delta Product Line Vice President Jim Sponnick said over the past two decades GPS has “changed how people live their lives on a daily basis.”
The rocket deployed the GPS IIR-21(M) spacecraft and was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida.
GPS satellites are designed to operate for 10 years and orbit the Earth every 12 hours.
“Congratulations to the Air Force and our mission partners in deploying this revolutionary space system that has changed the world for the better in the past 20 years,” said Sponnick in a press release.
