Navigation
NAVSTAR 52 (USA 168)
GPS Navigation Satellite (Block IIR) · US Space Force
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Navstar 52 (USA 168), launched in 2003, closed out the original Block IIR GPS satellite line. Together with its sibling satellites, it replaced the aging Block II/IIA generation launched in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ensuring the US never let the operational GPS constellation drop below the minimum 24 satellites needed to guarantee at least four satellites are visible from any point on Earth at any time — the bare mathematical minimum required to calculate a 3D position fix.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Medium Earth Orbita high vantage point, ideal for navigation
- Altitude
- 13,053–13,076 mi (21,006–21,044 km)
- Inclination
- 54.7°
- One orbit
- 12.5 hours1.9 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 27704
- Int’l designator
- 2003-010A
- Launched
- 2003
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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