USA-304

USA-304, also known as GPS-III SV03 or Matthew Henson, is a United States navigation satellite which forms part of the Global Positioning System. It was the third GPS Block III satellite to be launched.

Satellite
SV03 is the third GPS Block III satellite to be launched. Ordered in 2008, launch was pushed back several times to 2020 due to delays with the first and second satellites.

The spacecraft is built on the Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite bus, and weighs in at 4,311 kg.

Launch
USA-304 was launched by SpaceX on 30 June 2020 at 20:10 UTC atop Falcon 9 booster B1060. The launch took place from SLC-40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and placed USA-304 directly into semi-synchronous orbit. About eight minutes after launch, Falcon 9 B1060 successfully landed on Just Read the Instructions.

Orbit
As of 2021, USA-304 was in a 55.2 degree inclination orbit with a perigee of 20,164 km and an apogee of 20,214 km.