Tag: COps

Contingency Ops, GPS III SV02 receive Operational Acceptance from USSF

A ULA Delta IV rocket carrying GPS III SV02 lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 on Aug. 22. (Photo: ULA)

The Space and Missile Systems Center achieved a major GPS milestone on March 27 with the Contingency Operations (COps) program and GPS III Space Vehicle (SV) 02, both of which received U.S. Space Force’s Operational Acceptance approval.

COps is an upgrade to the current GPS Operational Control System to operationally command and control GPS III satellites. These satellites are the newest generation built by Lockheed Martin, providing precise positioning, navigation and timing information with three times better accuracy, and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capability than previous generations of GPS satellites.

The first GPS III satellite, SV01, was launched on Dec. 23, 2018, and achieved Operational Acceptance on Jan. 2, 2020. USSF made SV01 available for use by military and civilian users for critical missions worldwide on Jan. 13.

Operating in a trial period since October 2019, COps supports developmental testing of the GPS III ground and space capabilities. The trial period culminated in a fully mission capable rating from the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center’s Operational Utility Evaluation conducted on the new GPS III satellite and COps upgrade. This event successfully completed on Feb. 20.

Subsequently, GPS Operational Control System and COps received the second GPS III satellite — SV02, nicknamed “Magellan” — which the Space and Missile Systems Center launched on Aug. 22, 2019.

“The COps and GPS III SV02 Operational Acceptance marks another major milestone for the GPS enterprise and presents a clear picture that the Department of Defense is moving to the future,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Toth, 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander. “Of all the programs that will be delivered this year, there are few that carry with it as significant an impact to the warfighter and civilian users as this program will. This is truly a remarkable leap forward for the GPS enterprise and the capability it provides, and I couldn’t be more proud of the team that came together to make it happen.”

Photo: ULA

A ULA Delta IV rocket carrying GPS III SV02 lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 on Aug. 22. (Photo: ULA)

March 30, 2020
Raytheon to replace computer hardware on new GPS ground system

Photo: Raytheon

The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program on March 26 instructed Raytheon to replace the computer hardware in OCX prior to system delivery.

The IBM computer product line used in the system was sold to a Chinese company, Lenovo, in August 2014. At the time of the sale, the U.S. government identified this as a major impact to OCX by creating an unacceptable cyber risk. However, the government waited implement a fix until Raytheon showed promising program performance in delivering OCX.

“Over the last two and a half years, since OCX came out of its Nunn-McCurdy breach, Raytheon has been executing as planned, giving us confidence in OCX’s ability to transition into operations,” said Lt. Gen. John Thompson, SMC commander.

Software development was completed in the fall of 2019, and the program is in the integration and test phase. Within a year, Raytheon is expected to deliver a qualified software baseline capable of operating the GPS constellation, Thompson said.

Until OCX is deployed, GPS will be operated using the Contingency Operations, or COps, supplied by Lockheed Martin.

HPE chosen as hardware vendor

In 2017, the federal government sponsored a hardware trade study with U.S.-based vendors to replace IBM’s hardware. As a result of the study, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was selected as the vendor. The program then conducted a pilot project replacing the IBM hardware in the 17 external monitoring stations and four ground antenna sites, resulting in successful HPE replacement.

“This gave us confidence that we had a viable OCX technical solution providing a long term sustainable hardware baseline that meets our stringent cyber security requirements,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Gabriele, SMC’s OCX materiel leader. “As Raytheon continues to track to their contractual commitments, addressing the unsupportable IBM cyber security risk is prudent to do pre-system delivery to the government.

“Although this government-directed change will impact the Raytheon schedule, the government is holding Raytheon accountable to deliver qualified software prior to integrating on the HPE platform and deploying to operational sites,” Gabriele said.

“By executing the fix now we eliminate $150 million in rework and retesting, and ensuring we deliver a system that is capable of transitioning to operations,” said Barbara Baker, SMC Command and Control Division’s senior materiel leader.

Decades-old hardware

Another benefit of the $378 million government-directed contract change is the opportunity to replace the now decade-old IBM hardware. This will improve system performance and increase the OCX program supportability posture.

“OCX is critical to continuing high priority national efforts to modernize GPS with new military and civil positioning capabilities, including enhanced security, precision, reliability, and integrity. OCX will deliver sustained, reliable GPS capabilities to America’s warfighters, allies, and civil users,” Baker said.

The OCX program is part of the GPS Enterprise Modernization. OCX will deliver two times more satellite capacity, modern cyber-secure infrastructure, improved accuracy, globally deployed modernized receivers with anti-jam capabilities, and improved availability in difficult terrain.

“As a high interest program, we will continue to work with our industry partners to deliver a global GPS capability, Gabriele said.

March 30, 2020
Ground System COps connects with orbiting GPS III satellite

The GPS enterprise reached another major milestone on Oct. 21, when the GPS III Contingency Operations Program (COps) successfully connected with the first GPS III satellite on orbit.

The COps system will allow the Air Force to operationally command and control the new, more powerful GPS III satellites as well as legacy GPS satellites currently in the constellation. The first GPS III satellite was launched on Dec. 23, 2018.

The GPS III COps program achieved several successes in recent months. First, the program completed final ground control system software testing and verification in May 2019. This was followed by delivery to sustainment and final system test completion in June 2019.

After final system test, the Air Force approved installation of COps to command and control legacy operations at the Master Control Station at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and at the Alternate Master Control Station at Vandenberg, Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif.

Trial period begins. In October 2019, the COps program received approval from Air Force Space Command’s Operations and Communications Directorate (A3/6) to enter a trial period.

The trial period includes testing COps command and control with the live, on-orbit GPS III satellite, which allows the program office to conduct developmental and operational testing needed to thoroughly verify requirements and functionality of the satellite.

The testing aims to confirm readiness for operational acceptance targeted for December 2019 and April 2020 for the GPS III satellite and COps respectively.

The GPS III COps program is managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Production Corps, Command and Control Systems Division, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California.

The Production Corps is an 800-plus person team managing 26 programs across the Air Force’s space portfolio.

Image provided by Lockheed Martin.

October 23, 2019
Lockheed delivers GPS III ground system upgrade, SV03 ready for launch

Technicians successfully integrated the U.S. Air Force’s third GPS III space vehicle (GPS III SV03) on August 14, 2017. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

On May 22, Lockheed Martin delivered the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) software upgrade to the U.S. Air Force’s current GPS ground control system.

The upgrade will enable the Air Force to start commanding the new, next-generation GPS III satellites now coming off the production line and beginning to launch.

And the new GPS III satellites are coming. The first GPS III satellite launched in December 2018; the second GPS III shipped to Cape Canaveral in March for a July launch; and on May 17, the Air Force declared the third new GPS III “Available for Launch” next.

Ground System. The challenge was modernizing the current ground system — formally known as the GPS Architecture Evolution Plan Operational Control System (AEP OCS) — to fly the legacy constellation, as well as the new, modern GPS III satellites, until the next generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 1, still in development, is delivered.

To address this, in 2016, the Air Force contracted Lockheed Martin to develop the GPS III COps program. Currently, the AEP OCS controls 31 GPS IIA, IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites launched between 1993-2016. With the AEP OCS’ new GPS III COps upgrade, the Air Force will be able to command and control both the legacy satellites, as well the more powerful GPS III satellites.

Lockheed Martin shipped the U.S. Air Force’s first GPS III to Cape Canaveral, Florida ahead of its expected July launch. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

“Positioning, Navigation and Timing is a critical mission for our nation and COps will allow the Air Force to gain early access to its new GPS III satellites,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for Navigation Systems. “We just finished Final Qualification Testing and delivery on COps, and it will be integrated and installed on the AEP OCS over the summer. We look forward to the Air Force ‘flying’ a GPS constellation on the COps OCS which includes the new GPS III satellites, later this year.”

Meanwhile, the first GPS III space vehicle (GPS III SV01), launched in December 2018, is finishing up pre-operational on-orbit check-out. It continues to be controlled by OCX Block 0 software installed at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Launch and Checkout Center at the company’s Denver facility. GPS III SV01 is expected to be “handed over” to the COps OCS later this year after the legacy constellation is moved over to the updated AEP OCS.

Lockheed Martin has sustained the AEP OCS since 2013. In November 2018, the company completed the AEP 7.5 upgrade — the largest architectural change in the systems history — replacing significant code, hardware and software to improve the system’s cybersecurity capabilities and positioning the Air Force to better operate in contested, degraded and operationally limited environments.

In December 2018, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS Control Segment Sustainment II (GCS II) contract to continue to further modernize and sustain the AEP OCS through 2025. In 2020, the AEP OCS is expected to receive the M-Code Early Use (MCEU) upgrade, which will allow control of M-code, an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, as well as to increase secure access to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces.

Lockheed Martin is under contract to develop and build up to 32 GPS III/IIIF satellites. GPS III will deliver three times better accuracy and provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III’s new L1C civil signal will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems. Additional “IIIF” capabilities, beginning at the 11th satellite, will include a fully digital navigation payload, Regional Military Protection, an accuracy-enhancing laser retroreflector array, and a Search & Rescue payload.

June 11, 2019
Lockheed preps ground system to support GPS III launches

Once the next-generation GPS III satellites begin launching in December, a series of updates to the current ground control system from Lockheed Martin will help the U.S. Air Force gain early command and control of the new satellites for testing and operations.

In 2016 and 2017, the Air Force placed Lockheed Martin under two contracts, called GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) and M-code Early Use (MCEU), which directed the company to upgrade the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control System (OCS), which operates today’s GPS constellation.

The fourth Lockheed Martin-built GPS Ill satellite is fully integrated. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

These upgrades to the AEP OCS are intended to serve as gap fillers prior to the entire GPS constellation’s operational transition to the next-generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 1, now in development.

In April, the Air Force approved Lockheed Martin’s critical design for MCEU, essentially providing a green light for the company to proceed with software development and systems engineering to deploy the M-code upgrade to the legacy AEP OCS.

The Air Force gave a similar nod to COps in November 2016. COps is now on schedule for delivery in May 2019 and MCEU is scheduled for delivery in January 2020.

“The Air Force declared the first GPS III satellite Available for Launch last year, and it’s expected to launch later this year. Nine more GPS III satellites are following close behind in production flow,” explained Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin’s program manager for Navigation Systems. “GPS III is coming soon, and as these satellites are launched, COps and MCEU will allow the Air Force the opportunity to integrate these satellites into the constellation and to start testing some of GPS III’s advanced capabilities even earlier.”

MCEU Capabilities

Part of the Air Force’s overall modernization plan for the GPS, M-code is a new, advanced signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, as well as to increase secure access to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces.

To accelerate M-code’s deployment to support testing and fielding of modernized user equipment in support of the warfighter, MCEU will upgrade the AEP OCS, allowing it to task, upload and monitor M-code within the GPS constellation.

MCEU will provide command and control of M-Code capability to eight GPS IIR-M and 12 GPS IIF satellites currently on orbit, as well as future GPS III satellites.

COps Capabilities

Following launch and check out, each future GPS III satellite will take its place in the GPS constellation. The COps modifications will allow the AEP OCS to support these more powerful GPS III satellites, enabling them to perform their positioning, navigation and timing missions for more than one billion civil, commercial and military users who depend on GPS every day.

Besides the addition of GPS III, COps will also continue to support all the GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites in the legacy constellation.

Lockheed Martin has a long history of supporting ground systems, providing operations, sustainment and logistics support for nearly 60 Department of Defense satellites, including GPS, often allowing them to double their on-orbit operational design life.

GPS III Satellites

Lockheed Martin also is under contract to develop and build 10 GPS III satellites, which will deliver three times better accuracy and provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities compared to current GPS satellites.

GPS III’s new L1C civil signal also will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.

September 7, 2018