Aerospace and Defense

Air Force Announces a New Competition for GPS III Launch Services
August 6, 2016

Air Force Announces a New Competition for GPS III Launch Services

Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space., U.S Air Force photo by Van Ha

[Updated August 19, 2016, to include Air Force responses to Inside GNSS questions.] The U.S. Air Force has announced a new competition for the next GPS III satellite launch, scheduled for 2019. The request for proposal (RFP) for an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service, due from the industry by September 19, follows a draft RPF that received “extensive industry engagements,” the Air Force said.

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By Inside GNSS
Air Force Backs GPS OCX as Temporary Shutdown Looms
July 17, 2016

Air Force Backs GPS OCX as Temporary Shutdown Looms

The Air Force is defending the new GPS ground system, taking a stand against naysayers in Congress and declaring through its actions an intent to stick with the Next Generation Operational Control System program (OCX) — at least for now.

The most public of these actions occurred June 30 when Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James announced OCX would surpass by at least 25 percent the program’s estimated cost. She declared a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach, putting the program on a path to automatic cancellation.

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By Dee Ann Divis
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First Results
July 5, 2016

First Results

In February 2011, Russia launched the first satellite of the GLONASS-K1 series, i.e., SVN (space vehicle number) 801 (R26), which in addition to the legacy frequency division multiple access (FDMA) signals, for the first time was enabled to transmit code division multiple access (CDMA) signals on the GLONASS L3 frequency (1202.025 MHz). Later in 2014, the GLONASS program added SVNs 802 (R17) of series K1 and 755 (R21) of series M, and in 2016, SVN 751 of series M, with the capability of transmitting CDMA L3 signals to the constellation.

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By Inside GNSS
Air Force Declares Nunn-McCurdy Breach on the New GPS Operational Control System
June 30, 2016

Air Force Declares Nunn-McCurdy Breach on the New GPS Operational Control System

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James declared a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach on the GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX) today (June 30, 2016).

After a December 2015 Program “Deep Dive,” Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall placed the OCX program under significant Department of Defense (DoD) oversight with quarterly reviews.

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By Inside GNSS
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Senate Passes Defense Authorization Bill "Fencing Off" Funding for Next-Generation GPS Control System
June 22, 2016

Senate Passes Defense Authorization Bill “Fencing Off” Funding for Next-Generation GPS Control System

The Senate approved defense authorization legislation last week before heading out for weekend campaigning. The measure contains a provision the White House said would further delay completion of the already overdue next-generation GPS control system (OCX) by 6 to 12 months.

Senators passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 on June 16, defying the White House, which had said June 7 it would veto the bill.

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By Inside GNSS
Here to Stay – Europe Committed to Long Haul in Space with Galileo
June 10, 2016

Here to Stay – Europe Committed to Long Haul in Space with Galileo

Lowri Evans, DG GROWTH. Photo by Peter Gutierrez

As ranking European Union (EU) official, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elzbieta Bienkowska set the tone in a keynote speech that anticipated some major issues to be addressed in the upcoming “EU Space Strategy,” the EUropean Commission’s next big new European space policy document, expected to come out later this year.

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By Inside GNSS
GNSS Hotspots | May 2019
May 29, 2016

GNSS Hotspots | May 2019

One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder.
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST

Electronic Throwaways, Space X Wins, Drones at Sea and Shaking It Up

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By Inside GNSS
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