Mission type Navigation COSPAR ID 1996-056A Mission duration 7.5 years (planned) Launch date 12 September 1996 Reference system Geocentric orbit | Operator US Air Force SATCAT no. 24320 Spacecraft type GPS Block IIA Manufacturer Rockwell International | |
People also search for USA-126, USA-117, USA-132, USA-151 | ||
USA-128, also known as GPS IIA-18, GPS II-27 and GPS SVN-30, is an American navigation satellite which forms part of the Global Positioning System. It was the eighteenth of nineteen Block IIA GPS satellites to be launched.
USA-128 was launched at 08:49:00 UTC on 12 September 1996, atop a Delta II carrier rocket, flight number D238, flying in the 7925-9.5 configuration. The launch took place from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and placed USA-128 into a transfer orbit. The satellite raised itself into medium Earth orbit using a Star-37XFP apogee motor.
On 17 October 1996, USA-128 was in an orbit with a perigee of 20,058 kilometres (12,463 mi), an apogee of 20,305 kilometres (12,617 mi), a period of 717.94 minutes, and 54.7 degrees of inclination to the equator. It broadcasts the PRN 30 signal, and operates in slot 2 of plane B 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, and was decommissioned on July 20, 2011.