Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Harris Corporation has delivered the first of 34 receivers to support the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). The receiver was shipped to Raytheon Company, the prime contractor, in Aurora, Colorado, after it passed an electromagnetic interference test, Harris said.
By Inside GNSS
The first GPS III satellite’s delivery will be delayed by four months because of a Lockheed Martin subcontractor’s failure to test a ceramic capacitor.
The satellite, which was expected to be delivered in August, is now scheduled for shipment in December, according to a Bloomberg news article.
By Inside GNSS
Littleton, Colorado-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems has received a $395 million U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center contract option to build two additional GPS III satellites. The contract option calls for long-lead and production hardware to manufacture GPS III space vehicles (SVs) 9 and 10.
“The GPS III SV 9 and 10 satellites are expected to be ready for launch in 2022, thus sustaining the GPS constellation,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center’s commander.
By Inside GNSS
Air Force Space Commander Gen. John HytenSince Gen. John E. Hyten assumed leadership of Air Force Space Command in August 2014 he has been wrestling with a host of challenges including delays in the modernization programs for the GPS space segment and GPS military user equipment.
By Dee Ann Divis
The U.S. Air Force’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS) at the 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, has moved the longest-serving GPS satellite, space vehicle number (SVN) 23, into a disposal orbit several hundred miles above the operational GPS constellation.
The satellite, which was launched on November 26, 1990, had a rough start, the Air Force said. After early-orbit operations and initial stabilization in December 1990, SVN 23’s solar array stopped working.
By Inside GNSS
Col. Steve Whitney, GPS DirectorateA funding shortfall will not halt work on the new GPS ground system this month, although a decision expected in the next two weeks may signal major changes in the program.
Increased personnel costs on the Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program had eaten up the fiscal year 2016 budget and were poised to force managers to stop work on September 15. The Pentagon had requested Congress to allow $39 million to be reprogrammed to bridge the gap but lawmakers left for the summer recess without approving the change.
By Inside GNSS
Figures 1-3Working Papers explore the technical and scientific themes that underpin GNSS programs and applications. This regular column is coordinated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günter Hein, head of Europe’s Galileo Operations and Evolution.
By Günter W. Hein
The Miller family: Casey, Colleen, Mikel, Krista, Lauren, Trevor, and Megan.It has been a long journey to success for Mikel M. Miller, the U.S. Air Force’s lead scientist for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) science and technology development.
By Inside GNSS
Already running out of money and facing a shut down, the program to develop a new GPS ground system could see its funding tied up for more than a month, perhaps closer to two months, due to wrinkles linked to the Nunn-McCurdy breach declared for the program at the end of June.
By Inside GNSS
More than 300 engineers, technicians, and support personnel have been working on the GPS III program, including successfully completing space vehicle (SV) 01 testing, at Lockheed Martin’s processing facility near Denver.
The Air Force recently exercised contract options for Lockheed Martin to complete development of eight GPS III space vehicles (GPS III SVs 01 to 08). The eight vehicles are in various stages of assembly, integration and testing, according to the prime contractor for the next-generation spacecraft.
A lack of funds will force a shutdown in the development of the GPS new ground system on September 15 unless lawmakers act on a July request to redirect funds, according to the Air Force.
Although the doors likely would only be closed for a little over two weeks, a hiatus would add substantially to the total cost of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) and further delay completion of the already behind-schedule program, the Pentagon has told lawmakers.
By Inside GNSS
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.
By Inside GNSS
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlines how, after decades of debate, the Department of Defense (DoD) system for buying and integrating space systems remains complex and fractured — causing delays, cost overruns, and cancellations among the department’s many space programs, including GPS.
By Inside GNSS
