An United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4-M rocket boosted the GPS 2F-1 ('Space Vehicle 1') navigation satellite off its launch pad at approximately 11:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, May 27, 2010 (0300 GMT on Friday, May 28, 2010).

The launch occurred from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The GPS 2F-1 is the first of a series of twelve next-generation GPS 2F navigation satellites that will replace the current Navistar global positioning system (GPS) used by the United States for military and civilian purposes.

The U.S. GPS is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides accurate location and time information to anyone with a GPS receiver (and in sight of four orbiting GPS satellites) on or near the Earth.

The satellite separated from the Delta's upper stage at 2:33 a.m EDT. It reached its intended orbital parameters and signaled this success to Boeing and Air Force ground controllers at the Boeing Mission Operations Support Center via the Diego Garcia ground station in the Indian Ocean.

The satellite is expected to now be tested over the next week as to its ability to fulfill its mission.

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Boeing/Air Force ground controllers and officials expect the operational testing of the satellite will proceed normally and that the satellite will function normally at the beginning of its twelve-year mission in orbit about the Earth.

The satellite is expected to be operating nominally after 90 days in orbit about Earth.

According to Craig Cooning, who is the vice president and general manager for Boeing Space and Intelligence System (the maker of the satellite), "These next-generation satellites provide improved accuracy through advanced atomic clocks; a more jam-resistant military signal and a longer design life than earlier GPS satellites; and a new civil signal that benefits aviation safety and search-and-rescue efforts.' [Fox News (5-28-2010): 'Air Force Launches First Next-Gen GPS Satellite']

Colonel David Madden, the GPS wing commander for the U.S. Air Force, adds, "GPS is used by nearly a billion people worldwide for everything from farming and aviation to public safety, disaster relief and recreation, not to mention its military purpose of providing precision navigation and timing to combat forces. GPS 2F will increase the signal power, precision and capacity of the system, and form the core of the GPS constellation for years to come." [Fox News]

A video of the launch is provided within the GPS World article 'Block IIF Successfully Launched from Cape Canaveral.'

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A second GPS 2F (GPS Block 2F or GPS IIF) satellite--GPS 2F-2 ('Space Vehicle 2')--is scheduled for launch in November 2010 with an Atlas 5-401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The GPS 2F series of navigation satellites (twelve in all over the next few years) will replace the current 20-year-old Navstar global positioning system. The ultimate goal is to replace the interim GPS 2F satellites with GPS 3F satellites.

For additional information, please read the Space.com article 'Air Force Launches Advanced New GPS Satellite.'