At 2:53 a.m. ET on April 20, 2026, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 carrying the GPS III-8 (SV10) satellite. The mission marked the seventh flight for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster, B1095, which landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th Weather Squadron had a 90% chance of favorable conditions, with cumulus clouds and thick cloud layers as the main concerns.
The GPS III-8 satellite is part of a new generation designed to deliver stronger signals, higher accuracy, and greater resilience for military and civilian users. It includes improved timing devices and enhanced military code (M-code) capabilities, which provide better protection against jamming. The satellite will join the existing GPS constellation, which the U.S. Air Force has been modernizing since 2018.
This was the final mission for the droneship Just Read the Instructions, which will be retired to focus on SpaceX’s Starship program. The Starship is being developed for NASA’s Artemis moon missions and other deep-space exploration efforts. SpaceX confirmed the shift in focus after 156 successful Falcon 9 landings, with the droneship now fully dedicated to Starship operations.
The launch comes as SpaceX continues to dominate commercial spaceflight from Brevard County. The GPS III-8 mission follows several Starlink launches from the same pad in recent months. The satellite’s namesake, Hedy Lamar, was a Hollywood actress and co-inventor of a frequency-hopping technology during World War II, a contribution that later influenced the development of GPS systems. The U.S. Air Force selected the name in 2021 as part of its effort to honor women in science and technology.