Named Rapid Response Trailblazer-1 (RRT-1), this mission was a U.S. national security space launch and was also intended to demonstrate military capabilities to condense a typical two-year mission planning cycle to less than six months.

Now we know what “RRT” stands for.

The payload, GPS III SV-07, is the seventh satellite of the GPS III constellation, built by Lockheed Martin. The satellite had been previously slated for a late 2025 launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket but was reassigned to a SpaceX Falcon 9 this summer.

“We decided to pull SV-07 out of storage and try to get it to the launch pad as quickly as possible,” Col. James Horne, senior materiel leader for launch execution at the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, told SpaceNews. “It’s our way of demonstrating that we can be responsive to operator needs with NSSL-class missions.”

Confirmation that this was satellite #7, not #10, as had been previously speculated.

The decision to accelerate the launch of SV-07 was made in mid-2024 when uncertainty around the Vulcan rocket’s readiness led Space Force leaders to reassess their options. Horne emphasized that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the NSSL program’s flexibility. “This is a way for us to demonstrate to adversaries that we can be responsive,” he said.

ULA’s Vulcan rocket is still awaiting official certification to launch NSSL missions. The vehicle was originally assigned three GPS III launches — SV-07, SV-08 and SV-09 — and SpaceX got SV-10.

Horne said the satellites have been remanifested. Because SV-07 was reassigned to SpaceX, ULA will get to launch SV-10.

Currently no change in the total number of GPS launches SpaceX and ULA are each assigned, they just swapped #7 and #10 because Falcon was ready and Vulcan was not.