GPS IIF-10 was successfully launched by the U.S., and two BeiDou satellites were successfully launched by China

United Launch Alliance launched the GPS IIF-10 positioning satellite on an Atlas V rocket at 11:36 local time on July 15 (0:36 on July 16 JST) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the United States. GPS IIF-10 was put into its prescribed orbit approximately three hours and 23 minutes later, making the launch a success.

GPS IIF-10 is the tenth satellite in the GPS IIF series operated by Boeing from 2010. Nine satellites in the GPS IIF series have been launched and are being operated until now, and the final plan includes a total of 12 satellites. United Launch Alliance is a company established jointly by Lockheed Martin and Boeing in 2006. The current Atlas V launches are carried out by this company.

Two third-generation BeiDou positioning satellites were launched on a Long March rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, China at 20:29 local time on July 25 (21:29 JST), 10 days after the GPS IIF-10 launch by the U.S. These were the 18th and 19th BeiDou satellites. The launch was successful roughly 3.5 hours later, when the two satellites reached their planned orbits.

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