A Boeing Delta 2 rocket delivered the first modernized GPS Block 2R satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force, Boeing and satellite manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced.

The launch took place Sept. 25 at 11:37 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Following a 24-minute flight, the rocket deployed the satellite into a transfer orbit. The Delta 2 7925-9.5 configuration featured a Boeing first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and nine Alliant Techsystems solid rocket boosters.

The satellite is the first in a series of eight 2R satellites that Lockheed Martin is modernizing for the Navstar GPS Joint Program Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. The upgraded satellites include a modernized antenna panel that will provide increased signal power to GPS receivers on the ground, two new military signals and a second civilian signal.

The modernized navigation payload is being built by ITT Industries in Clifton, N.J. The satellite upgrades, along with final assembly, integration and test are being performed at Lockheed Martin facilities in Valley Forge, Pa.