The launch was the second in a series the Space Force is running to test its ability to launch high-value satellites in response to operational needs.

The USSF Lockheed Martin-built GPS III Space Vehicle 08 (GPS III SV08) has successfully launched into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

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.