The U.S. Space Force plans to launch the next GPS III satellite in late May as part of a rapid launch mission. This initiative aims to demonstrate their ability to prepare and launch a satellite on shortened timelines.

Col. Jim Horne, the senior materiel leader of launch execution, emphasized the mission’s importance, stating, “It highlights another instance of the Space Force’s ability to complete high priority launches on a rapid timescale, which demonstrates the capability to respond to emergent constellation needs as rapidly as Space Vehicle readiness allows.”

This upcoming mission will include lessons learned from the Space Force’s first Rapid Response Trailblazer effort conducted in December 2024. That mission, launched via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, successfully planned and launched a GPS III satellite within months—a process that usually takes about two years to complete.

Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the GPS III spacecraft, transported the satellite from its Littleton, Colorado facility to Buckley Space Force Base, where it was then loaded onto a C-17 for transport to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellite arrived on April 3, and Space Operations Command’s Delta 31 is currently handling the initial satellite processing.

Malik Musawwir, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of navigation systems, indicated that following the two recent GPS missions, only two GPS III satellites remain in storage. The company expects the remaining two to be prepared for launch later this year.

Looking ahead, the first launch of the next variant, GPS IIIF, is anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027. These spacecraft will feature enhanced anti-jam capabilities and an improved civilian signal, and they are now entering the integration stage of production and final assembly.

Currently, the Space Force operates at least 31 GPS satellites in orbit, which include older model satellites as well as the latest GPS III satellites. With growing concerns regarding the constellation’s vulnerability to jamming and spoofing threats, the Space Force is actively exploring new methods for delivering positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities.

This exploration includes the development of a new constellation of small GPS satellites under the program known as Resilient GPS. The Space Force has engaged three companies to draft prototype designs and aims to launch the first batch of eight satellites by 2028.

Simultaneously, the Space Force is concluding a comprehensive study of its PNT architecture, which will better define a roadmap for the future mix of PNT capabilities. This analysis is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.

Courtney Albon, the author of this report, is a space and emerging technology reporter for C4ISRNET, having covered the U.S. military since 2012 with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force.