WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the U.S. military’s latest Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite on May 30. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:37 p.m. Eastern, carrying the GPS III SV-08 satellite — an eighth installment in the U.S. Space Force’s third-generation GPS constellation.

United Launch Alliance’s years-long delays with its new Vulcan rocket have flipped the script for national security missions, making SpaceX the new reliable provider.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket on Friday for the GPS III-7 mission to medium-Earth orbit from Florida.