B: Applications

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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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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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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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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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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