Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Boosts Modernized Navigation Satellite into Orbit

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A powerful roar rumbled across Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully boosted the third Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF military navigation satellite into orbit.  The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines providing booster and upper-stage propulsion, respectively.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

The Block IIF is the third in a series of 12 new GPS satellites designed to improve navigational accuracy for civil, commercial and defense applications worldwide.  Block IIF features more capability and improved mission performance, including predicted signal accuracy that is two times greater than heritage satellites; a 12- year lifespan that provides longer service and reduced operating costs; and a military signal that has better resistance to jamming in hostile conflict areas.  

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including engines for launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines. Behind its successful designs, manufacturing processes, and hardware are Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's research and development engineers, who solve tough problems in extreme environments. For more information, go to www.PrattWhitneyRocketdyne.com.  Follow us at www.Twitter.com/PWRocketdyne and www.Facebook.com/PWRocketdyne.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne