Mission type Navigation COSPAR ID 1996-019A Mission duration 7.5 years (planned) Inclination 54.7° Period 12 hours Launch mass 1,816 kg Rocket Delta II | Operator US Air Force SATCAT no. 23833 Spacecraft type GPS Block IIA Inclination 54.7° Launch mass 1,816 kg Launch date 28 March 1996 | |
USA-117, also known as GPS IIA-16, GPS II-25 and GPS SVN-33, is an American navigation satellite which forms part of the Global Positioning System. It was the sixteenth of nineteen Block IIA GPS satellites to be launched.
USA-117 was launched at 00:21:00 UTC on 28 March 1996, atop a Delta II carrier rocket, flight number D234, flying in the 7925-9.5 configuration. The launch took place from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and placed USA-117 into a transfer orbit. The satellite raised itself into medium Earth orbit using a Star-37XFP apogee motor.
On 27 April 1996, USA-117 was in an orbit with a perigee of 20,080 kilometres (12,480 mi), an apogee of 20,284 kilometres (12,604 mi), a period of 717.96 minutes, and 54.7 degrees of inclination to the equator. It broadcasts the PRN 03 signal, and operates in slot 2 of plane C of the GPS constellation. The satellite has a mass of 1,816 kilograms (4,004 lb). It had a design life of 7.5 years; however, it actually remained in service until August 2, 2014.
It was subsequently disposed of and currently resides in a disposal orbit approximately 500km above the operational constellation.