USA-266

American navigation satellite used for GPS

USA-266
Spacecraft properties
A Block IIF GPS satellite
Names	GPS IIF-12 GPS SVN-70 NAVSTAR 76

Mission type	Navigation
Operator	US Air Force
COSPAR ID	2016-007A ^[1]
SATCAT no.	41328
Mission duration	12 years (planned)


Spacecraft	GPS SVN-70 (IIF-12)
Spacecraft type	GPS Block IIF
Manufacturer	Boeing
Launch mass	1,630 kg (3,590 lb) ^[2]


Start of mission
Launch date	5 February 2016, 13:38 UTC
Rocket	Atlas V 401 (AV-057) ^[3]
Launch site	CCAFS, SLC-41
Contractor	ULA
Entered service	9 March 2016


Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Medium Earth orbit (Semi-synchronous)
Perigee altitude	20,196 km (12,549 mi)
Apogee altitude	20,181 km (12,540 mi)
Inclination	55.01°
Period	717.9 minutes

USA-266, also known as GPS IIF-12, GPS SVN-70 and NAVSTAR 76, is an American navigation satellite which forms part of the Global Positioning System. It was the twelfth of twelve Block IIF satellites to be launched.^[2]

Launch

Built by Boeing and launched by United Launch Alliance (ULA), USA-266 was launched at 13:38 UTC on 5 February 2016, atop an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle, vehicle number AV-057.^[3] The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,^[4] and placed USA-266 directly into semi-synchronous orbit.^[5]

Orbit

As of March 2016, USA-266 was in an orbit with a perigee of 20,181 km (12,540 mi), an apogee of 20,196 km (12,549 mi), a period of 717.9 minutes, and 55.01° of inclination to the equator.^[5] It is used to broadcast the PRN 32 signal, and operates in slot 5 of plane F of the GPS constellation.^[6] The satellite has a design life of 12 years and a mass of 1,630 kg (3,590 lb).^[2] It is currently in service following commissioning on 9 March 2016.^[7]

References

^ "Navstar 76". NASA. Retrieved 13 March 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b ^c Krebs, Gunter. "GPS-2F (Navstar-2F)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch List". Launch Vehicle Database. Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ "GPS Constellation Status". US Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 8 April 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "NOTICE ADVISORY TO NAVSTAR USERS (NANU) 2016022". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellites

List of GPS satellites

Block I

1
2
3
4
5
6
7†
8
9
10
11

Block II

Block IIA

Block IIR

1†
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Block IIRM

Block IIF

Block III

Block IIIF

Italics indicate future missions. Signs † indicate launch failures.

v t e ← 2015 Orbital launches in 2016 2017 →
January	Belintersat-1 Jason-3 IRNSS-1E Intelsat 29e Eutelsat 9B
February	BeiDou M3-S USA-266 / GPS IIF -12 Kosmos 2514 / GLONASS-M 751 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 USA-267 / Topaz-4 Sentinel-3A ASTRO-H / Hitomi
March	SES-9 Eutelsat 65 West A IRNSS-1F Resurs-P №3 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Schiaparelli EDM Soyuz TMA-20M Cygnus CRS OA-6 (Diwata-1, Flock-2e' × 20 , Lemur-2 × 9) Kosmos 2515 / Bars-M 2L BeiDou IGSO-6 Progress MS-02
April	Shijian-10 Dragon CRS-8, BEAM Sentinel-1B, MICROSCOPE, e-st@r-II Mikhailo Lomonosov IRNSS-1G
May	JCSAT-14 Yaogan 30 Galileo FOC-10, FOC-11 Thaicom 8 Kosmos 2516 / GLONASS-M 753 Ziyuan III-02, ÑuSat 1, 2
June	Kosmos 2517 / Geo-IK-2 №12 Intelsat 31 / DLA-2 USA-268 / Orion 9 BeiDou G7 Eutelsat 117 West B, ABS-2A Cartosat-2C, M3MSat, Flock-2p × 12, SathyabamaSat, Swayam MUOS-5 Chinese next-generation crew capsule scale model Shijian 16-02
July	Soyuz MS-01 Progress MS-03 Dragon CRS-9 USA-269 / NROL-61
August	Tiantong-1 01 Gaofen-3 JCSAT-16 QUESS / Mozi / Micius USA-270 / GSSAP-3, USA-271 / GSSAP-4 Intelsat 33e, Intelsat 36 Gaofen-10†
September	AMOS-6† INSAT-3DR OSIRIS-REx Ofek-11 Tiangong-2 SkySat × 4 ScatSat-1, Alsat-1B, Alsat-2B, BlackSky Pathfinder-1, Pratham, CanX-7, PISat
October	Sky Muster II, GSAT-18 Shenzhou 11 Cygnus CRS OA-5 (Lemur-2 × 4) Soyuz MS-02
November	Himawari 9 Shijian-17 XPNAV 1 WorldView-4, CELTEE 1, Prometheus-2 × 2, AeroCube 8 × 2, U2U, RAVAN Yunhai-1 Galileo FOC 7, 12, 13, 14 Soyuz MS-03 GOES-R Tianlian I-04
December	Progress MS-04 Göktürk-1 Resourcesat-2A WGS-8 HTV-6 / Kounotori 6, (EGG, TuPOD, UBAKUSAT, AOBA-VELOX, STARS, FREEDOM, ITF, Waseda-SAT, OSNSAT, Tancredo-1, TechEDSat, Lemur-2 × 4) Fengyun 4A CYGNSS × 8 EchoStar 19 Arase / ERG TanSat, Spark × 2 Star One D1, JCSAT-15 SuperView / Gaojing-1 01, 02, Bayi Kepu 1
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).