SpaceX Caps Record 2018 With Launch of Air Force GPS Satellite

Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. capped a record-setting year Sunday when it launched a rocket carrying a new GPS III satellite for the U.S. Air Force, after delaying the mission several times because of a technical issue involving its rocket sensors and bad weather.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8:51 a.m. local time carrying the Lockheed Martin-built satellite. SpaceX first won U.S. Air Force certification for national-security space missions in spring 2015, breaking the lock on sensitive satellite launches long held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. The GPS III will go into medium Earth orbit roughly 1 hour and 56 minutes after liftoff, according to the SpaceX press kit.