Aerospace and Defense

SMC Announces Feasibility Assessment Contracts for Next Round of GPS III Satellite Competition
May 6, 2016

SMC Announces Feasibility Assessment Contracts for Next Round of GPS III Satellite Competition

The USAF Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) announced today (May 5, 2016) the award of three contracts to support companies in preparing for the competition to build additional GPS Block III space vehicles (SVs).

The SMC’s GPS Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, will award one GPS III Phase 1 Production Readiness Feasibility Assessment contract to each of the following companies: Boeing Network and Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

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By Inside GNSS
SpaceX Snares GPS III Launch Services Contract
April 27, 2016

SpaceX Snares GPS III Launch Services Contract

The Air Force announced today (April 27, 2016) the award to Space Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of an $82.7-million contract for GPS III Launch Services.

The Air Force characterized the contract as “the first competitively sourced National Security Space (NSS) launch services contract in more than a decade.” However, a decision last November by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed, not to compete for this GPS III launch effectively left SpaceX as the only bidder.

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By Inside GNSS
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Gen. Hyten: Raytheon’s OCX the Best Bet for New GPS Ground System
March 31, 2016

Gen. Hyten: Raytheon’s OCX the Best Bet for New GPS Ground System

Air Force Space Commander Gen. John Hyten at subcommittee hearing

While acknowledging the fury over problems with the new GPS ground system, the head of Air Force Space Command told lawmakers this month that finishing the program with the current contractor was the best way forward.

That contactor, Raytheon, is years behind on the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), a project whose price tag may now top $4 billion.

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By Inside GNSS
Galileo & EGNOS Evolution
March 27, 2016

Galileo & EGNOS Evolution

Prof. Dr. Günter Hein

A global navigation satellite system seems like such solid thing, like the pyramids, perhaps, or a mountain. Permanent, fixed, immutable.

Nor is this surprising. After all, GNSS distinguishes itself from many other technologies of the moment by its grounding in a large and widespread infrastructure: a master control station, launch facilities, far-flung monitoring stations, the space segment with dozens of massive satellites that can operate 20 years or more as did a recently retired GPS Block IIA spacecraft.

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By Günter W. Hein
Air Force Considers Shifting GPS III Ground Control to Enterprise Ground Services
March 16, 2016

Air Force Considers Shifting GPS III Ground Control to Enterprise Ground Services

As the contractor for the new GPS ground system works its way through a make-or-break 90-day evaluation period, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is weighing whether it should look at leapfrogging past that program and shifting control of the newest GPS satellites to a new common ground system for Air Force space assets.

The Next-Generation Operational Control System or OCX, currently under development by Raytheon, is essential to integrating the GPS III satellites into the U.S. GNSS constellation and operating them at their full potential.

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By Inside GNSS
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U.S. Administration, Congress Continue to Underfund Civil GPS Signal Monitoring
February 29, 2016

U.S. Administration, Congress Continue to Underfund Civil GPS Signal Monitoring

The civil GPS community is facing a significant federal funding cut in the midst of programmatic shifts and political squalls that make the long-term outlook murkier than usual.

President Obama’s recently released 2017 budget proposal calls for $847.362 million in Department of Defense (DoD) funds but only $10 million in Department of Transportation (DoT) funds to sustain and modernize the civil GPS services, including monitoring of civil GPS signals.

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By Inside GNSS
Fate of OCX Program May Be Decided within a Few Months
February 24, 2016

Fate of OCX Program May Be Decided within a Few Months

Under Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall, U.S. Air Force photo/Michael J. Pausic

A decision on cancelling at least some of the modernized GPS ground control system contract could be made within a matter of months and certainly before President Obama leaves office, the Pentagon’s senior acquisition official said today (February 23, 2016).

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By Inside GNSS
GPS III Budget Slashed as Air Force Shifts Money to Fix Delayed OCX
February 15, 2016

GPS III Budget Slashed as Air Force Shifts Money to Fix Delayed OCX

With a stopgap fix under contract and a bump-up in next year’s budget request on the table the Air Force appears intent on sticking with its plan to continue work on a new GPS ground system despite dismay over repeated delays.  

The White House has asked for $393.3 million for the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). Though that number is a 12 percent increase over the $350.2 million approved for FY16, it is effectively a placeholder and may grow.

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By Inside GNSS
First GPS III Satellite Completes Operational ThermoVac Testing in Simulated Harsh Space Environment
February 3, 2016

First GPS III Satellite Completes Operational ThermoVac Testing in Simulated Harsh Space Environment

Lockheed Martin announced today (February 3, 2016) that the first GPS III satellite successfully completed system-level Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) testing on December 23, validating the design of the entire assembled satellite.
 
TVAC is a rigorous test designed to prove a satellite’s integrity and operational capabilities by subjecting it to prolonged cycles of simulated space temperature extremes in a special depressurized chamber.
 

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By Inside GNSS
Legislation to Stop U.S. Use of Russian Rocket Engines Could Affect GPS
January 29, 2016

Legislation to Stop U.S. Use of Russian Rocket Engines Could Affect GPS

U.S. Senator John McCain

If approved, legislation halting the use of a Russian rocket engine could force delays in the launch of U.S. military satellites, including, potentially, GPS III spacecraft planned for launch beginning next year.

The bill, introduced this week by Sen. John McCain R-Arizona, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, would ban the use of Russian RD-180 rocket engines for the evolved expendable launch vehicle program (EELV).

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By Inside GNSS
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