Newest GPS IIR Satellite Launches Successfully

Lockheed Martin [LMT] officials yesterday said the upgraded GPS IIR-12 satellite it built launched successfully on a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite joins 28 other GPS satellites already in orbit. Lockheed Martin spokesman Steve Tatum told Satellite Today that the satellite has responded to commands from the ground, and Lockheed Martin expects to turn control over to the U.S. Air Force in about two weeks, following the completion of in-orbit testing.