Aerojet has announced that its second-stage liquid engine for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket helped boost Lockheed Martin's GPS IIR-20(M) satellite to orbit for the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System.

The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida early Tuesday morning.

This launch marks the 270th successful Delta launch using Aerojet's second-stage liquid engine. This same engine has supported past launches of Global Positioning System satellites as well as the Phoenix Mars Lander, the recent NASA Kepler mission, THEMIS, MESSENGER and the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) spacecraft, to name a few.

The GPS IIR-20(M) satellite is a modernized navigation satellite used to aid military and civilian users worldwide.

Aerojet provides 16 thrusters for the GPS satellite's in-space maneuvering. Aerojet thrusters have flown on every GPS mission to date ensuring that the United States provides GPS navigation capability to both military and commercial users.

"Aerojet is honored to support the world-wide navigational capability offered by GPS," said Aerojet's Flight Production Director, David Carter.

"And we are proud of our past, present, and future role maintaining these critical satellites in orbit."