USA-96

USA-96, also known as GPS IIA-14, GPS II-23 and GPS SVN-34, was an American navigation satellite which formed part of the Global Positioning System. It was the fourteenth of nineteen Block IIA GPS satellites to be launched.

USA-96 was launched at 17:04:00 UTC on 26 October 1993, atop a Delta II carrier rocket, flight number D223, flying in the 7925-9.5 configuration. The launch took place from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and placed USA-96 into a transfer orbit. The satellite raised itself into medium Earth orbit using a Star-37XFP apogee motor.

On 25 November 1993, USA-96 was in an orbit with a perigee of 20104 km, an apogee of 20260 km, a period of 717.96 minutes, and 55 degrees of inclination to the equator. It broadcast the PRN 04 signal, and operated in slot 4 of plane D of the GPS constellation. The satellite has a mass of 1816 kg. It had a design life of 7.5 years, and lasted until 2 November 2015, being removed from the GPS constellation the next day, almost 22 years later.