Mission type Navigation
Technology COSPAR ID 1980-032A Spacecraft type GPS Block I Manufacturer Rockwell International | Operator US Air Force SATCAT no. 11783 Launch date 26 April 1980 | |
Mission duration 5 years (planned)
11 years (achieved) People also search for OPS 5117, OPS 9794, OPS 5112 | ||
OPS 5118, also known as Navstar 6, GPS I-6 and GPS SVN-6, was an American navigation satellite launched in 1980 as part of the Global Positioning System development programme. It was the sixth of eleven Block I GPS satellites to be launched.
OPS 5118 was launched at 22:00 UTC on 26 April 1980, atop an Atlas E/F carrier rocket with an SGS-1 upper stage. The Atlas used had the serial number 34F, and was originally built as an Atlas F. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and placed OPS 5118 into a transfer orbit. The satellite raised itself into medium Earth orbit using a Star-27 apogee motor.
By 27 May 1980, OPS 5118 had been raised to an orbit with a perigee of 20,006 kilometres (12,431 mi), an apogee of 20,357 kilometres (12,649 mi), a period of 717.94 minutes, and 62.8 degrees of inclination to the equator. The satellite had a design life of 5 years and a mass of 758 kilograms (1,671 lb). It broadcast the PRN 09 signal in the GPS demonstration constellation, and was retired from service on 6 March 1991.