GPS Satellite Update Launches To Orbit

The last of a dozen satellites to help you navigate using your GPS made it to orbit.

The final Global Positioning Satellite hitched a ride to space thanks to United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. ULA launched the GPS IIF-12 satellite on an Atlas V rocket.

While the GPS system is operated by the Air Force, it’s the same one civilians use on their cell phones or car navigation.

The Atlas V rocket uses Russian-made engines, and the U.S. Air Force has come under fire recently for using them – most vocally from U.S. Senator John McCain.