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June 7, 2019

MITRE’s Betz Inducted into 2019 GPS Hall of Fame

GPS. It’s such an integral part of our lives, you don’t even need to spell it out. We just take it for granted.

But the U.S. Air Force doesn’t. That’s why the U.S.A.F. annually honors the pioneers behind the Global Positioning System, through its GPS Hall of Fame. The Air Force’s GPS Directorate recently added MITRE Fellow Emeritus John Betz to the list for his groundbreaking contributions to the system that guides us home and ensures military equipment accuracy.

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By Inside GNSS
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May 30, 2019

Air Force Lab Plans R&D into Celestial-Aided Navigation Tech

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is considering a contract for research and development of celestial-aided navigation technologies. The primary focus is to develop a Star Tracker that can reliably perform celestial sightings for sensor altitudes between 30,000 feet and 80,000 feet. The goal is to reduce the risks to guidance, navigation and control in GPS-denied environments, especially for operations over feature-poor terrain such as desert, water, snow and ice where existing terrain-aided methods may not be used for position, navigation, and timing (PNT) updates.

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By Inside GNSS
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May 22, 2019

Collins Aerospace Achieves Critical Security Certification for M-Code Common GPS Module

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 22, 2019) – Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has received the Global Positioning Systems Directorate (GPS-D) security certification from the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (USAF SMC) for its Military Code (M-Code) Common GPS Module (CGM). Security certification validates compliance to the stringent Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) hardware and software security design specification. With security certification, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) can significantly expand MGUE receiver integration and testing locations supporting the operational deployment of M-Code.

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By Inside GNSS
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March 28, 2019

Former Senior Intel Leader Gen. Denker Joins Lockheed Martin

HERNDON, Va., – The former deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Major General (ret.) Stephen Denker, will join Lockheed Martin to lead key satellite ground programs, effective Monday, April 1. Denker will oversee Intelligence and Analytic Development programs in support of space ground systems within the Mission Solutions line of business for Lockheed Martin Space.

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By Inside GNSS
spaceForce
March 1, 2019

Pentagon Releases Space Force Proposal to Congress

The Pentagon Friday released its proposal for enabling legislation to create a Space Force, a new military branch expected to eventually comprise some 15,000 personnel.

“Establishing a Space Force is a strategic priority to facilitate the DOD’s preparation for the character of warfare in the twenty-first century,” the Department of Defense (DOD) wrote in an overview. “A sixth branch of the Armed Forces dedicated to space will catalyze a fundamental transformation of our approach to space from a combat support function to a domain of competition and potential conflict.”

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By Dee Ann Divis
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February 14, 2019

Government Researchers Working to Address GPS Vulnerabilities

Two recent reports have underscored the threats to the GPS system from space-capable adversaries. Both the Worldwide Threat Assessment, released Jan. 30 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and theDefense Intelligence Agency’s newly released Challenges to Security in Spacedetail the potential for China, Russia and others to damage the constellation or disrupt its signals.

With worries mounting about these risks, and the more mundane but still harmful prospect of regional jamming or spoofing, organizations throughout the U.S. government are working on ways to address vulnerabilities and find ways to operate without GPS.

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By Dee Ann Divis
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December 20, 2018

GPS III Space Vehicle 01 Launch Rescheduled

UPDATE: According to SpaceX, the launch has been pushed back a second time. Initially the company had not selected  a new launch date, but on Dec. 20 they stated that the new date was to be Dec. 22.

Here are some details from the SpaceX website published on Dec. 20:

SpaceX is now targeting December 22nd for launch of the United States Air Force’s first Global Positioning System III space vehicle (SV) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Weather is 80% favorable for the launch window which opens at 8:55 a.m. EST, 13:55 UTC.

For this mission, the satellite will be deployed to medium Earth orbit approximately 1 hour and 56 minutes after liftoff. Due to mission requirements, SpaceX will not attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage after launch. You can watch the live launch webcast, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.

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By Inside GNSS
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