USA-585
GPS III satellite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
USA-585 (also known as GPS III-10, NAVSTAR 86 and Hedy Lamarr), is a United States navigation satellite which forms part of the Global Positioning System.[1][2] It was launched by Falcon 9 on 21 April 2026.[3][4][5] It is the 10th and final satellite in the GPS III series.[3][5]
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Launch of USA-585 | |
| Names | Navstar 86 GPS-III SV10 Hedy Lamarr USA-585 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Navigation |
| Operator | USSF |
| COSPAR ID | 2026-087A |
| SATCAT no. | 68791 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | GPS-III SV10 |
| Spacecraft type | GPS Block III |
| Bus | A2100M |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 21 April 2026, 06:53 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Medium Earth orbit (Semi-synchronous orbit) |
Satellite
The satellite was named in 2021 after Hedy Lamarr, the inventor of the frequency-hopping technology.[6][7][8] Construction of the satellite was completed in February 2023.[9] The satellite includes a Tesat-Spacecom SCOT80 optical communications terminal, intended to perform the first laser communications test from a GPS satellite at medium Earth orbit.[9][10][11]
Launch
The satellite's launch was originally awarded to SpaceX but it was later switched to ULA for a mission exchange to launch GPS III-07 Sally Ride on Falcon 9 and later in March 2026 it was reassigned to SpaceX because of delays due to recent Vulcan solid rocket booster issues during the launch of the USSF-87 mission.[3][9] In exchange, ULA was awarded with USSF-70 mission originally planned for launch on Falcon Heavy.[12][13] The launch mission was named GPS III-8.[14]
