Schriever Air Force Base – 16 February 2016 – The 50th Space Wing accepted satellite control authority of the final Global Positioning System GPS IIF satellite from the GPS Directorate during a ceremony held Feb. 12 at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. Following its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Feb. 5, operators from the 50th and 310th Space Wings completed an extensive checkout of the satellite before placing it into its assigned orbital slot in the GPS constellation. This satellite is the 12th and last of the IIF satellite launches.
GPS IIF-12 (SVN-70) will replace the legacy SVN-41, which will be moved to another location and provide auxiliary support to the GPS constellation. The oldest GPS satellite in the constellation, SVN-23, has been removed from the broadcast almanac to make room for GPS IIF-12. Launched Nov. 26, 1990, SVN-23 was decommissioned after 25 years of service prior to the launch of GPS IIF-12.
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