[4] The fourth Block IIF GPS satellite, it forms part of the Global Positioning System.

USA-242 is a 1,630-kilogram (3,590 lb) spacecraft, built by Boeing with a design life of 15 years.

[1] It operates from a semi-synchronous medium Earth orbit, at an altitude of 20,459 kilometers (12,713 mi) an inclination of 55 degrees,[2] in slot 5 of plane C of the GPS constellation.

The launch marked the first time since 1985 that a GPS satellite had launched on an Atlas rocket, or indeed any rocket other than a Delta.

This article about one or more spacecraft of the United States is a stub.