Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
This week’s Navitec Conference, entitled “Navigating the Future of Transportation,” delivered good news to an appreciative crowd at the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA/ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
By Inside GNSS
GPS III satellites in production. Image Source: Lockheed Martin.The U.S. Air Force has approved Lockheed Martin’s current GPS satellite ground control system upgrade to enable it to operate with more powerful and accurate GPS III satellites, the company said.
The Air Force’s Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Contingency Operations (COps) contract, completed on November 17, allows Lockheed Martin to proceed with the modification of the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control Segment. The AEP, maintained by Lockheed Martin, controls the 31 GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites in orbit.
By Inside GNSS
The Air Force’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate contracted the CUP2 upgrade.Lockheed Martin has announced a major upgrade to modernize the GPS ground control system, the company said. The commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) upgrade no. 2 (CUP2) project, which became operational in mid-October to manage the 31 GPS satellites, is the latest step in the U.S. Air Force’s plan to refresh technology and transform the legacy operational control segment, also known as the Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP), the company said.
By Inside GNSS
Government watchdogs said in a new report that schedule slippages in the new GPS ground system — which in October had another four months added to its repeatedly extended schedule — are more of a factor in delays to GPS modernization than technical problems with the satellite’s payload.
By Dee Ann Divis
Congress is back in Washington with a December 9 deadline to pass the 2017 Fiscal Year (FY17) federal budget and avoid a government shutdown.
Lawmakers are widely expected to pass another continuing resolution, or CR, leaving the final decisions on the FY17 budget until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January — an approach that could both help and hurt the Pentagon’s GPS modernization effort.
By Dee Ann Divis
Equations
EquationsWorking 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
Figures 1 & 2Spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), at altitudes below 3,000 kilometers, remain within the main Global Positioning System (GPS) signals’ Earth coverage. Spacecraft employing GPS at these altitudes enjoy signal availability and navigation and timing performance emulating that of terrestrial users.
By Inside GNSS
View of the Isar River, Munich, GermanyThe Munich Satellite Navigation Summit and exhibition will take place at the Residenz Muenchen in Munich, Germany on March 14 – 16, 2017.
Register here. Early bird rate until January 17, 2017.
The theme for this year’s summit is “GNSS: Is It Time for Backup?”
The technical program includes plenary discussions and updates on the
main activities in worldwide satellite navigation systems, including:
It’s official. The Department of Defense is sticking with its current GPS ground system development program and with its current prime contractor Raytheon — although the details of how it will realign the program remain unclear.
By Inside GNSS
Air Force Space Commander Gen. John HytenThe Department of Defense (DoD) is less than three weeks away from a decision on whether to retain, cancel, or change its contract to develop a new GPS ground system.
A source familiar with the program said they believe the Air Force will stick with the program but will recast it to fit more closely with DoD’s budget realities.
By Dee Ann Divis
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
