WASHINGTON — In a mission veiled in secrecy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Dec. 16 at 7:52 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, sending a military Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite to a medium orbit about 12,000 miles above Earth. 

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Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense...