SpaceX launched the latest in a series of more powerful Global Positioning System navigation satellites Wednesday

U.S. Space Force fleet-wide upgrade to provide improved accuracy and anti-jamming capability.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the 9,595-pound satellite blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:24 a.m. EST and arced away to the northeast over the Atlantic Ocean.

After dropping off its previously-flown first stage, which flew itself back for a landing on an offshore droneship,

the rocket's upper stage engine fired twice to reach the planned deploy orbit before releasing the satellite to fly on its own.

Lockheed Martin has built 10 GPS 3 satellites for the Space Force — the satellite launched Wednesday was No. 6 — and is under contract to build 22 advanced GPS 3

"We currently have four more GPS satellites in our Colorado facility that are available for launch," said Andre Trotter, Lockheed Martin's vice president of navigation systems.

GPS satellites constantly broadcast ultra-precise timing signals from on-board atomic clocks.

Military and civilian receivers, in devices ranging from car navigation systems to smart weapons, can calculate their position, velocity and altitude by analyzing slight