A sixth GPS IIF satellite was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 8:08 p.m. EDT May 16.
The satellite, designated GPS IIF-6 and built by Boeing, is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.
According to Boeing, each GPS IIF satellite has greater navigational accuracy through improvements in atomic clock technology and a new civilian L5 signal to aid commercial aviation and search and rescue operations.
Interestingly, the rocket is the first to be tracked via GPS instead of by radar.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas and Delta rockets are transitioning to GPS metric tracking for range safety functions, which protect the public and property should a launch vehicle veer off course. The move is a money-saving upgrade to the military’s aging range infrastructure.
A special avionics system on the launcher transmitted the location. For decades, most rockets launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, have been tracked by C-band radar.
Two more GPS IIF satellites are scheduled to launch before the end of the year.
Galileo FOC Satellites Reach Spaceport
Galileo’s first two full operational capability (FOC) satellites arrived in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 7, in preparation for launch this summer.
Manufactured by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with navigation payloads contributed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in Guildford, UK, these satellites — the first of 22 full-capability models — had spent several months at ESA’s Technical Centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where they underwent exhaustive testing in simulated space conditions.
The Galileo satellites are named for the children who won a painting competition organized by the European Commission in 2011. Doresa and Milena, the first two FOC satellites, will be launched together aboard a Soyuz rocket, joining the four Galileos already in orbit. Adam, the third Galileo FOC satellite, is now undergoing testing under space conditions at ESTEC. Anastacia, the fourth Galileo FOC satellite, will begin final testing at OHB in Bremen before being shipped to ESTEC.
“A steady stream of satellites is foreseen, coming from OHB to ESTEC for acceptance testing and then on to French Guiana,” said an ESA official.
Arianespace is already facing an exceptionally crowded launch manifest in 2014. A well-informed source opined, “If one were to hazard a guess, here is the most likely scenario: O3b arrives ready for launch several weeks ahead of Galileo and secures the June launch. Galileo moves to August and is promised a second launch in the autumn. O3b’s planned second launch in 2014 is moved to early 2015, as is the planned third launch of Galileo.
“The effect of these schedule slips on the cost of the Galileo program, which is about a year late — cost overruns that Tajani has vowed will not be paid by the commission — is a subject for another day.”
New Loran at 5 Meters
The red track is based on raw eLoran data without any corrections. The transparent blue line is made by GPS-RTK and is widened to 10 meters, giving the required ± 5-meter limits of eDLoran. The white line is output from the eDLoran receiver, which stays within the borders of the 10-meter-wide transparent blue line.
Dutch consultants Reelektronika showed results from a prototype enhanced differential Loran (eDLoran) system, extensively tested in the Europort (Rotterdam) area, at the European Navigation Conference held in April. The tests achieved accuracies of 5 meters. A full technical article describing the equipment, methodology, and test results will appear in the July issue of GPS World.
Harbor pilots require accuracies of 5 meters and some form of robustness or back-up for GNSS systems in case of jamming, unintentional interference, system failure, or other disruption.
The current eLoran system cannot get better than 10-meter accuracy. The new eDLoran opens up new possibilities for multiple applications:
Installing eDLoran reference stations is fast, simple, and cost effective.
As there is no data channel bandwidth limitation, multiple reference stations can be installed, which offers increased reliability and makes the system more robust against terrorism and lightning damage.
A single or multiple eDLoran servers can be installed in a protected area. There is hardly a practical limit in the number of differential reference stations to serve.
CNAV on L2C and L5 Initiated
On April 28, U.S. Air Force Space Command began broadcasting civil navigation (CNAV) messages on all operational GPS satellites capable of transmitting the L2C and L5 signals. L2C is designed for commercial needs and L5 meets safety-of-life transportation requirements.
“These new CNAV messages will enable manufacturers to develop and test advanced civil receivers and make for a more robust position, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution available to the civilian public,” said Maj. Gen. Robert E. Wheeler. “We do not anticipate any GPS satellite outages or legacy degradations as a result of the pre-operational deployment of these frequencies, and those currently using the GPS Standard Positioning Service should not be impacted.”
Initial CNAV broadcast occurs at a reduced data accuracy and update frequency compared to GPS signals in use today. In December 2014, CNAV data updates will increase to a daily rate, bringing L2C and L5 signal-in-space accuracy on par with legacy signals. However, derived position accuracy cannot be guaranteed during the pre-operational deployment. These signals are primarily used to test various equipment and should be employed at the users’ own risk; not used for safety-of-life or other critical purposes.
The Air Force will broadcast L2C messages with the health bit set “healthy,” as was the case during a June 2013 test. L5 messages will be set “unhealthy,” but as experience grows with L5 broadcast and implementation of signal monitoring is achieved, this status may change upon review.
Friday’s launch of a Delta 4 rocket carrying the latest GPS satellite was tracked via GPS itself instead of by radar, reports Spaceflight Now in an article.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas and Delta rockets are transitioning to GPS metric tracking for range safety functions, which protect the public and property should a launch vehicle veer off course. The move is a money-saving upgrade to the military’s aging range infrastructure.
A special avionics system on the launcher transmitted the location. For decades, most rockets launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, have been tracked by C-band radar.
User equipment incorrectly interpreting data from a satellite set “unhealthy” led to an apparent constellation outage for roughly 1,000 fleet vehicles across Australia in April. The problem was traced to the way a GPS/telecomm chip reacted to an extended navigation test aboard SVN-49, having to do with the recently launched IIF satellite, SVN-64.
Although SVN-49 was set unhealthy at the time, the integrator-equipped fleet vehicles across the continent experienced periods of several hours without satellite visibility, in unobscured environments.
The U.S. Air Force GPS Operations Center reported that in mid-May tests, “PRN 30 [was] broadcasting almanac datasets that do not reflect constellation changes that occurred since it was last uploaded with navigation message data. [. . . ] The utilization of these almanacs in a manner that regards the time of week, but neglects or mishandles the week number (effectively executing as if the current week number is the week number associated with these almanac parameters), will result in an increasing error in visibility determination and other almanac based estimations (elevation/azimuth, Doppler shift, SV clock offset from GPS time, etc) as the dataset’s actual week offset from the current week increases.”
The situation occurred once previously, in 2011 with Mercedes in Europe. The problem was traced to chips from the same manufacturer, installed by the car-maker’s integrator partner, also misinterpreting data from a satellite set unhealthy while broadcasting system test data.
Update: The launch of the GPS IIF-6 satellite has been delayed one day due to bad weather.
Another GPS IIF satellite is expected to lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 8:08 p.m. EDT May 15 at the opening of an 18-minute launch window.
The satellite, designated GPS IIF-6 and built by Boeing, is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users. According to Boeing, each GPS IIF satellite has:
greater navigational accuracy through improvements in atomic clock technology.
a new civilian L5 signal to aid commercial aviation and search and rescue operations.
improved military signal and variable power for better resistance to jamming in hostile environments.
a 12-year design life providing long-term service and reduced operating costs.
an on-orbit, reprogrammable processor that can receive software uploads for improved system operation.
GPS IIF-6 will be the United Launch Alliance’s fifth launch of 2014 and 82nd overall. It also will mark the 26th flight of the Delta IV launch vehicle since its inaugural flight in November 2002.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 with the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-5 satellite. This launch marked the 25th Delta IV flight since the first flight in 2002.
The latest GPS Block IIF satellite, IIF-5 or SVN64 (operating as PRN30), was launched on February 21, 2014. Typically, GPS satellites are checked out and made operational within about a month following launch. SVN64 has yet to be set healthy.
The delay is due to an extended navigation test being performed by the GPS master control station. A navigation upload for SVN64 was performed in March with ephemeris and clock data as usual streching weeks in advance. However, unlike with operational satellites, no further updated uploads have been performed. The aging ephermis and clock data gradually becomes less and less accurate as time goes by but should degrade gracefully.
Inquisitive observers will have noticed that the received navigation data from SNV64 changes infrequently. Currently, the navigation data changes once per day with an epoch of 13:00 GPS Time unlike every two hours with operational satellites. And the data fit interval is 26 hours, compared to four hours.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 with the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-5 satellite. This launch marked the 25th Delta IV flight since the first flight in 2002. Credit: Ben Cooper/ULA
News compiled with the assistance of CANSPACE listserv.
After a brief delay due to concerns over solar radiation trends, the GPS IIF-5 satellite was successfully launched at the end of the designated launch window at 01:59 UTC on February 21. The satellite, attached to the launch rocket’s upper stage, was initially placed in a highly elliptical orbit. Following a third burn of the rocket, the satellite was released into its assigned orbit at about 05:37 UTC today.
Here is a video showing highlights of the launch:
GPS IIF-5 will replace the aging spacecraft known as GPS IIA-28 in Plane A, Slot 3 of the constellation.The GPS IIA-28 satellite was launched aboard Delta 249 on November 5, 1997, as the final member of the Block IIA series. It will go into a reserve role in the network for the remainder of its useful life.
This is the first of three GPS launches planned through July to replace aging craft in the constellation. GPS IIF-5 incrementally upgrades the constellation with improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation, and a longer design life, all features of the Boeing-build Block IIF series. This will be the fifth of 12 Block IIF spacecraft being built to form the backbone of the GPS fleet for the next 15 years.
Launch logo. The nickname of the IIF-5 satellite is Canopus, the brightest star in the modern constellation Carina and the second brightest star in the night-time sky, after Sirius.
According to the Air Force, the new capabilities of the IIF satellites will provide greater navigational accuracy through improvements in atomic clock technology, a more robust signal for commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications, known as the new third civil signal (L5), a second civil signal (L2C) available for the dual-frequency GPS receivers and a 12-year design life providing long-term service. These upgrades improve anti-jam capabilities for the warfighter and improve security for military and civil users around the world.
“I am pleased with the outcome of today’s launch. The new capabilities provided by the IIF satellites will improve operations, sustainment and overall GPS service for the warfighter, international, commercial and civil communities,” said Col. Bill Cooley, director of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate.
“The modernized capabilities that are coming on board with the successful launch of GPS IIF-5 will support the worldwide GPS community for years to come. I would like to recognize the outstanding commitment and the superb dedication to mission success from the 45th and 50th Space Wings, our industry partners: Boeing and United Launch Alliance, and the GPS IIF and Delta IV program teams at the Space and Missile Systems Center,” said he said.
The GPS Block IIF satellites are built by Boeing, and are operated by the United States Air Force following their launch by United Launch Alliance, using Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles.
The first GPS IIF satellite was launched on May 27, 2010, and entered service on Aug. 26, 2010.
The second satellite, which launched on July 16, 2011, entered service on Aug. 22, 2011.
The third satellite launched on Oct. 4, 2012, and entered service 22 days later.
The fourth IIF was launched May 15, 2013, and entered service on June 21, 2013.
Every modern GPS satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Each GPS IIF satellite delivers:
Greater navigational accuracy through improvements in atomic clock technology,
A new civilian L5 signal to aid commercial aviation and search and rescue operations,
Improved military signal and variable power for better resistance to jamming in hostile environments,
A 12-year design life providing long-term service and reduced operating costs,
An on-orbit, reprogrammable processor that can receive software uploads for improved system operation.
“Once again, a group of talented mission partners rose to the challenge of launching another successful mission from the Cape,” said Col. Douglas Schiess, commander, 45th Operations Group, who served as the Launch Decision Authority. “Those mission partners include the 45th Space Wing, the Space and Missile Systems Center, the 50th Space Wing, United Launch Alliance, Boeing, and our other industry partners with the Delta IV and GPS IIF launch teams.”
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 with the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-5 satellite. This launch marked the 25th Delta IV flight since the first flight in 2002.A United Launch Alliance Delta IV lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 with the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-5 satellite. This launch marked the 25th Delta IV flight since the first flight in 2002.
By Colonel William T. “Bill” Cooley, U.S. Air Force, Director, Global Positioning System
The cliché “time flies when you’re having fun” accurately describes how quickly the past six months have passed for me. In a program as challenging, rewarding, and mission-critical as GPS, it is full-speed ahead all the time. As the GPS director, I am acutely aware of the importance of time — particularly high-accuracy time. Since declaring initial operational capability in December 1993, the extremely precise time service delivered by GPS has enabled numerous technological advances around the globe. While extremely proud of the accomplishments over the past 20 years, I look forward to the next 20 years, as GPS brings on new signals and continues to deliver on its promise of a worldwide free positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) service. This article elaborates on the GPS Directorate commitment, along with the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS), to provide unparalleled space-based PNT accuracy, availability, and reliability to the civil community.
The first commitment, arguably the most important for users everywhere, is the commitment to high accuracy for space-based PNT. After speaking at the ION GNSS+ conference and meeting many of you in Nashville this September, I realized that some users remain worried that selective availability (SA) — the intentional degradation of public GPS signals — could return and negatively impact GPS signal quality. SA was discontinued in May 2000 to provide an increased level of accuracy to all users around the globe. Since that time, the U.S. government has adopted a policy to no longer use SA and, furthermore, in 2007 removed that function from the upcoming GPS III satellites. The GPS Performance Standard for the Standard Positioning Service reflects our commitment to accuracy by ensuring the signal-in-space (SIS) user range error remains low: better than 4-meter accuracy. Figure 1 shows the record-setting SIS accuracy and how GPS meets and far exceeds this guarantee: consistently better than 1-meter accuracy! The 2 SOPS operators who command and control the GPS satellites do a masterful job ensuring global PNT accuracy is as good as it can be.
Figure 1. Standard Positioning Service signal-in-space performance.
The quality of these services, however, does not permit the GPS enterprise to rest in the comfort of past success. We are dedicated to updating and modernizing the program.
The second commitment I’d like to highlight includes the GPS pledge for constellation sustainment and service availability. This is a guarantee to maintain a constellation of at least 24 satellites continuously broadcasting the GPS signals, providing a low dilution-of-precision value around the globe. Current efforts to meet this commitment range from replenishing unhealthy satellites to deploying improved, modernized satellites and corresponding ground support. For example, the GPS IIF satellites are rapidly becoming an integral part of the GPS constellation. With four IIFs on-orbit and a fifth soon to be launched, the constellation continues to exceed the 24-satellite requirement.
The third commitment — to modernize the GPS constellation with new signals — is best illustrated by, but not limited to, the modernized GPS IIF and GPS III satellites that are beginning to populate the constellation. In addition to four GPS IIF satellites now on orbit, the remaining GPS IIFs are either ready for launch or in final testing.
Down the road, GPS III satellites are completing development and progressing through early production. They will add the fourth civil signal, L1C, for civil users worldwide. Earlier this year, the GPS III program shipped the GPS non-flight satellite testbed (an engineering development unit) to Cape Canaveral; it successfully communicated with the next-generation operational control system (OCX), essentially as it would for launch and on-orbit check and control of functional GPS III satellites. The operational portion of the GPS ground segment, OCX Block 1 is on track to begin operations in 2016, modernizing the control segment by providing mission operation control of all legacy signals, as well as L2C and L5; later, OCX Block 2 will support L1C.
GPS civil users will soon be able to take advantage of the L2C and L5 signals that broadcast the modernized civil navigation message (CNAV); this will effectively eliminate the need to access the L1 and L2 P(Y) signals through codeless or semi-codeless techniques. These codes permit civil users to access dual-frequency solutions for precision applications (using dual-frequency enables ionospheric corrections for highly accurate PNT solutions). Compared to the L1 C/A signal, L2C features faster signal acquisition, enhanced reliability, and greater operating range. L5 will provide for increased safety-of-life applications with broadcast power even greater than L1 C/A and L2C combined, increased bandwidth, and advanced signal design. Regardless of the early availability of L2C and L5, semi-codeless users will be able to access P(Y) code — unhindered and unaffected by fully tested and vetted flex-power operations — until the end of 2020. Overall, these modernization efforts emphasize a commitment that availability surpasses simply putting satellites on orbit.
Finally, the GPS Directorate is committed to providing a high-quality service that is highly reliable. We achieve this by fielding first-rate satellites, conducting extensive test campaigns before deploying new capabilities or launching new satellites, and working closely with the operators at 2 SOPS, ensuring our constellation delivers top-quality PNT signals. An example of diligent testing is the recent live-sky test of the CNAV message on all GPS IIR-M and IIF satellites this past June. An example of a modernization feature that will enhance reliability is the capability of GPS III satellites to autonomously monitor the atomic clocks that drive the signal, thereby protecting users from clock instability and resulting signal errors.
Our demonstrated commitment to deliver accurate, available, and reliable space-based PNT allows innovators around the world to invest confidently in the creation of a multitude of GPS and GPS-enabled technologies that shape the way we live. GPS and its related technologies go far beyond letting you find the deli down the street and “checking in” to let your friends know what you’re up to on Facebook; it tracks financial transactions, enables precision farming, and allows accurate real-time updates on natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis with capabilities that organizations like the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the International GNSS Service provide using GPS. The GPS Directorate is keenly aware that innovators invest their time and talent because they know they can depend on GPS availability. Our commitments are not just “feel-good” words; they are our mission and promise to the world.
I am very proud of the men and women in the GPS Directorate and thrilled to be part of this great team as the new GPS program director. The commitments listed here provide a glimpse into the services provided by the GPS enterprise. I am excited about bringing modernized signals to the world, but more excited to learn how the PNT community will use these signals to develop new innovative and useful applications. The world is easier to navigate because of GPS and GPS-enabled technologies, all of which rely on services the GPS enterprise provides: accuracy, availability, and reliability. We are committed to delivering these services as we modernize and improve the enterprise to continue GPS as the gold standard of space-based PNT.
Colonel William L. cooley is Director, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
The GNST arrives at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in July.
The Lockheed Martin prototype of the next-generation GPS satellite, the GPS III, has proven that it is backwardly compatible with the existing GPS satellite constellation in orbit.
During tests that concluded on October 17, Lockheed Martin’s GPS III testbed successfully communicated via cross-links to Air Force simulators of the current GPS constellation in orbit. The current GPS constellation includes GPS IIR, GPS IIR-M, and GPS IIF satellites.
Testing also demonstrated the ability of an Air Force receiver to track navigation signals transmitted by the GPS III Nonflight Satellite Testbed (GNST). The GNST is a full-sized, functional satellite prototype at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
“These tests represent the first time when the GNST’s flight-like hardware has communicated with flight-like hardware from the rest of the GPS constellation and with a navigation receiver,” explained Paul Miller, Lockheed Martin’s director for GPS III Development. “This provides early confidence in the GPS III’s design to bring advanced capabilities to our nation, while also being backward-compatible.”
Lockheed Martin is under contract to produce the first four GPS III satellites (SV 01-04), and has received advanced procurement funding for long-lead components for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth satellites (SV 05-08). The first flight-ready GPS III satellite is expected to arrive at Cape Canaveral in 2014, for launch by the Air Force in 2015.
Testing took place with the GNST — a test version of the GPS III — at Cape Canaveral.
GPS III, a critically important program for the Air Force, will replace aging GPS satellites in orbit while improving capability to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users. GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy; provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities; and include enhancements to extend spacecraft life 25 percent further than the prior GPS block. It will be the first GPS satellite with a new L1C civil signal designed to make it interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.
An innovative investment by the Air Force under the original GPS III development contract, the GNST has helped to identify and resolve development issues prior to integration and test of the first GPS III flight space vehicle (SV 01). Following the Air Force’s rigorous “back-to-basics” acquisition approach, the GNST has gone through the development, test, and production process for the GPS III program first, significantly reducing risk for the flight vehicles, improving production predictability, increasing mission assurance, and lowering overall program costs.
The GNST arrived at the Cape on July 19 to test facilities and pre-launch processes in advance of the arrival of the first flight satellite. On August 30, the GNST successfully established remote connectivity and communicated with the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), being developed by Raytheon.
Before shipment to the Cape, the GNST completed a series of high-fidelity activities to pathfind the integration, test and environmental checkout that all production GPS III satellites undergo at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility (GPF) in Denver, Colo.
The GPS III team is led by the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Lockheed Martin is the GPS III prime contractor, with teammates including ITT Exelis, General Dynamics, Infinity Systems Engineering, Honeywell, ATK, and other subcontractors. Air Force Space Command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron, based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.
The scheduled October 23 launch of GPS IIF-5, the fifth in the current “follow-on” generation of GPS satellites, has been postponed in order to complete a review of an adjustment made to the rocket’s upper stage engine. A fuel leak in that engine of the Delta 4 rocket during a GPS launch in October of last year created some worries for the Air Force and the United Launch Alliance (ULA), although the satellite successfully reached its intended orbit despite the upper stage producing less thrust than expected.
A subsequent investigation determined a fuel leak in the engine system was responsible. Two medium Delta IV rockets and one heavy version have launched since then, but ULA said continued investigation had produced new information about the engine’s first start.
While no new definitive launch date has been set, the ULA released a statement:
“The ongoing Phase II investigation has included extremely detailed characterization and reconstructions of the instrumentation signatures obtained from the October 2012 launch and these have recently resulted in some updated conclusions related to dynamic responses that occurred on the engine system during the first engine start event.
“The GPS IIF-5 Delta IV launch is being delayed to allow the technical team time to further assess these updated conclusions and assess the improvements already implemented and determine whether additional changes are required prior to the next Delta IV launch.
“The Delta IV booster for the GPS IIF-5 mission has completed the standard processing and checkout on the launch pad and will be maintained in a ready state for spacecraft mate and launch pending completion of this assessment. A new launch date will be established when the assessment of the updated dynamic response information is completed in the coming weeks.”
I first met just-pinned-on, shiny and bright, Captain Bernard Gruber-USAF in 1992. Bernie had just arrived at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California where he would hold several important positions.
For those readers not aware of the mission and importance of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), today SMC, which began in 1954, is the nation’s center of technical expertise for military space acquisition with more than 5,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $10 billion.
Bernie’s first association with GPS at SMC was as the chief of User Equipment Production at the then NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Joint Program Office (GPS-JPO). He went on to serve as the program manager for Foreign Military Sales (FMS), working with our allies, and then as the program manager for Advanced Military Devices, which is a euphemism for things we can’t discuss in this venue. All this in a short 40-month time frame, which is almost as long as he has served in his current capacity as the director of the Global Positioning Systems Directorate, now 21 years later. As a young starry-eyed captain, I remember Bernie as energetic, dedicated and full of ideas, which pretty much describes him today as he completes his last active duty assignment and his 26-year U.S. Air Force career draws to a close.
While it may be fair to say that Bernie had some notion of what to expect when he was assigned as the commander of the GPS Wing in 2010, he actually had no idea of all the tremendous and mostly positive changes that would occur to the GPS program under his watch.
I thought it would be fitting to conduct an exit interview with Bernie during his last full month on the job and get his opinion concerning the changes to GPS during his tenure and the probable way ahead for GPS as he turns over the reins.
Don Jewell (DJ): Colonel Gruber, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. I know you are extremely busy and your time is running short at SMC. Bernie, you have certainly lived the old Chinese adage, also sometimes described as a curse, during your tenure as the GPS Wing Commander and as the director of the GPS Directorate, “May you live in interesting times.” Your tenure has been beset with one major challenge after another and yet you have persevered and — I think this is something for which you will be remembered — you have consistently turned those challenges into opportunities. Let’s discuss some of the opportunities.
Certainly sequestration and budget issues are big topics today. Having come from the Pentagon and having worked on the financial side of GPS, were you surprised by what you found when you took over as the GPS Wing commander? Was it all you expected it to be? The big question seems to be, how is sequestration going to affect the future of the GPS?
Colonel (USAF) Bernard Gruber (BG): Well, Don, certainly budget issues are a key topic today, but let me say before we get started on the questions and answers that I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and your readers at GPS World. As you said in your introduction, these have certainly been interesting times. Some people may call it crazy but they are certainly interesting, nonetheless.
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised how much had changed on the [GPS] program when I came back to SMC, and the changes were really all for the good. It warmed my heart to see the Foreign Military Sales [FMS] office — which I actually started back in 1992 — now has agreements with 55 nations, and military sales continue to increase year-by-year. I was also very happy and surprised to see the SAASM or Selective Availability and Anti-Spoofing Module program, which I was actually the program manager for in its infancy, has now been installed on over one million GPS military receivers — in my estimation this program is protecting warfighters around the globe every single day. I think that is something we can be very proud of together.
The folks in the [GPS] Program Directorate that I have had the good fortune to work with are really something special. They work their hearts out every single day to protect, modernize, and sustain this great system. Also, I continue to be very much amazed that people understand the value of GPS as part of our critical infrastructure. So, my thanks to folks like you, Don, and the folks at GPS World for educating the public on this great utility that we have.
DJ: Thank you, Bernie, for those kind words. You know we are always happy to serve.
BG: Moving on to the sequestration bill… We are working very hard to reduce our costs and invest in different opportunities that have a return on investment like dual launch [of GPS III — ed.] and NavSat, or I think it is NibbleSat, as you and Dr. Parkinson referred to it in your article from the National Space Symposium, which we look at as an augmentation to GPS III. That is a good thing because it can significantly reduce total lifecycle costs of the program. So we continue to look at these, amongst other items, that we will prioritize and spend our development dollars on — items such as Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries, smart solar arrays, that allow you to have more efficient use of power, more efficient power amplifiers, that are significantly shrunk down in size from what we have today. Bottom line is we will continue to work on processes that clearly show a positive value stream.
DJ: I would think that one of your bigger, albeit not technical, challenges during your tenure was transitioning the GPS Wing back to an SMC Directorate. Any thoughts about the wisdom of that transition? Has it affected operations in a positive or negative way, or can you detect a difference? Has it affected the space career field for your military members?
BG: I remember you asking me this very same question back in 2011 during our very first interview, and I wish I remembered [ed. We remember — click the link]what I said back then, but I will give it a shot from where we are, right here, right now (laughs).
General Sheridan, as you very well know, the prior SMC Commander, had actually given me six goals when I got here. The first of those was fix the gap between OCX and GPS III. If you recall, we had about a 15-month gap in the delivery of those items. The second one was he asked me to transfer the AEP and LADO[launch, early orbit, anomaly and disposal operations, now provided by Braxton Technologies] ground segment to our users [the 50th Space Wing] and get that capability to them as soon as we could, so that they could operate it and own it. The third one was fix the IIF production line. The fourth one was to get the MGUE, or military GPS user equipment, back on track and award contracts. The fifth one was build a relationship and continue that relationship with the 50th Space Wing [Schriever AFB, Colorado]. The last one that he actually gave me was to ready the first space vehicle for GPS III through the GNST, which of course is the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Test Bed and an engineering, manufacturing and development pathfinder for the GPS III program, used to achieve modernization. And, Don, I am happy to say that we as a team have achieved every one of those goals.
Not far behind those goals, Don, General Sheridan followed up with the task of transitioning the Wing back to the Directorate. And as far as I can tell, it has really been seamless. I have to say, though, I really miss the instant recognition that we, as airmen first and then as acquisition professionals, had when we were called Squadrons, Groups and Wings. While I certainly understand that the number of folks that we supervise may have not have justified those titles by themselves, the level of responsibility that we have and my peers have around here certainly did, in my opinion. All around the change has not affected us in any negative way, and I really don’t detect any significant difference resulting from that transition.
DJ: Bernie, you oversaw the first successful launches of the Boeing-built GPS IIF satellites — a program beset by significant schedule and costs issues. Yet it has evidently become a success under your watch, even though there are still some issues. What are your overall thoughts about the IIF program?
BG: Thank you for that, but I really share this success with many, many other people here at SMC as well as at Team Boeing. The IIF program really and truly has turned a corner. It’s delivering world-class position, navigation and timing (PNT) data right now for users all over the world. Under my watch we had the addition of three IIF satellites actually put into the active constellation today. And although a lot of people may not know it right now, we recently achieved our very best day ever on the 21st of April in terms of accuracy of the GPS signal, with average user range errors (URE) of less than 51 centimeters. That is really astounding! It is better, clearly better, than any PNT system in the entire world today.
So the IIF program, at this point, is focused on closing out the production line and certainly completing those remaining few satellites. We will ready those eight satellites for launch, and then we will support the existing on-constellation needs as they arise.
Now, the nature of space programs is such that technology issues can, of course, creep up on you at any given time. I think we have proven that we can meet those issues head-on and keep the program on track. I could not be prouder of my IIF team very specifically. I very much recall when I first walked into this program office, when we had to actually shut down the IIF production line for over a month. That was a hard thing to do, but it really focused us on closing all the discrepancy reports we had and modeling a very smooth production flow.
So, here we are now with four [GPS-IIFs] on orbit, and five in the barn. As far as I can tell, programmatic and technology challenges have really pretty much been abated to continue to allow world-class spacecraft and mission data as we look forward.
And, Don, let me also add that we successfully transitioned at that time the entire ground segment, the LADO system, which I know you are very familiar with, the systems training system, as well as the data archival system to our operators and partners at the 50th Space Wing, without one single lien.
DJ: Bernie, what you just told us is very impressive. Accuracy and standardization are critical to GPS program success, and it sounds like you have that well in hand. Of course, the seamless transition of key responsibilities to the 50th Space Wing and 2SOPS (2nd Space Operations Squadron) is to be applauded. Plus, it really appears you have the IIF issues resolved and the GPS III program has become a reality during your tenure. What are your hopes for that program? Do you think the Lockheed Martin built GPS III will truly, as some have predicted, become the first 30-year GPS satellite?
BG: The bottom line is that I sincerely hope that the GPS III program will be a benchmark for future space acquisition programs, both in terms of the high standards that were set for mission assurance, and the level of communication between our program office and the contractor. The GPS III program is entering the very early stages of testing right now on the first flight vehicle, and I anticipate that we will begin to see the program move down that learning curve in very short order. You know with the 15-year design life, which we put in the contract, along with stringent parts requirements and our priority on systems engineering, I really do expect that the GPS III satellites will operate beyond the standards set by the current constellation. And I do have to say that what we call our “back to basics” approach, that other folks have written about, which includes those attributes of strong systems engineering discipline, detailed manufacturing systems readiness reviews, and strict adherence to standards, are actually now showing tangible and documented results. In some cases a 60-percent reduction in our cycle time and a 70-percent reduction in discrepancies for the next delivered items. I think that is huge.
You know, even from an historical perspective, our pathfinder vehicle, which we talked about earlier, called GNST, has taken actually one year out of labor and interference testing from troubleshooting we have seen on two previous programs alone. So we are taking GNST through all the steps the very first GPS III satellite will be exposed to. Then we will ship it down to the Cape [Canaveral] in one month and we should be able to complete our initial and final look at integration and delivery.
DJ: Bernie, so far we have talked mainly about the successes in the space segment, while the future of OCX to many still seems very uncertain, especially in light of the latest GAO report, which had some serious issues of its own. You have been closer to this process than anyone. What are your thoughts? Does OCX have a future? There are rumors there are going to be major changes. Any announcements you would like to make or predict?
BG: The development program for the Next Generation Operational Control System has made significant progress, and has just recently completed a very critical Milestone B approval, in November 2012. As we stand right now, the program is poised to deliver the next-generation GPS space vehicle command and control capability, mainly for GPS III, of course. It will replace our legacy ground [command and control] system and will support legacy and future space vehicles, as well as all the signals that accompany them. The program at this point remains on track to deliver capabilities according to the acquisition program baseline that we set down during the recent milestone.
That said, Don, some of the recent and heavy work of information assurance criteria are extremely rigorous. In fact, they are the most rigorous I have ever seen on any program that I have been involved with. Someone once told me a few months ago, “Bernie, you know you are building an information fortress that just happens to do Command & Control.” So I don’t know if I actually subscribe to that thought, but I think it gets the point across. In today’s cyber-threat environment, we have to do this, and we have to do it right for the protection of GPS.
To give you some confidence in the program, as of today we have actually coded over 98 percent of the Block Zero system, which is the basis for launching and commanding the basic GPS III constellation and, of course, the first vehicle. And we followed that up with two very significant exercises to provide telemetry and an integrated planning system. In July, we will actually go forth with our third exercise itself. In fact, I just got off the phone with the team a few minutes ago, to exercise what we call off-nominal behavior. Those are different types of test plans we have to go through just in case something in the system goes wrong.
What that means, Don, is if something does not go according to plan, what we do is we inject faults into the system and other types of non-nominal behavior, and then we see if we can do recovery actions and how the command and control system will actually fix it and correct it. This ensures the operators will have the tools to fix it.
So, Don, as kind of an overview, along with what we call the complete authority to test the documentation that is in place right now and the conclusion, which we recently had, of our third critical design review, I think we are on our way. We will be challenged along the way, there is no doubt about that, but we are looking forward to achieving our full capability with Block One. [ed. OCX Block RTO currently scheduled to be delivered in Q1 2017.]
DJ: Bernie, that is great news for those who are worried about the future and viability of OCX. It is good to know you still see a way ahead. Now we have covered the three main segments of the program, but there are still concerns over the initial acquisition process and how that plays out over time. Certainly in your career you have been steeped in Air Force and DoD acquisition programs for years, which is a process many in government describe as a process in need of a major overhaul. What are your thoughts? How could we, the government, the USAF, do things differently? Any solutions or cogent thoughts?
BG: Sure, off the record! No, seriously, I have indeed been involved in acquisitions for a long time now, and let me just say that is a great question and it is certainly deserving of a much, much longer answer than I have time to provide for you here today. As a matter of fact, I have written a couple of papers on the subject of acquisition reform in the past, and I have been involved with three very significant studies in Defense Acquisition University (DAU) as well as one of our nation’s premier think tanks, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
But, in my opinion, there is a lot we can do, so let me just capture a couple of thoughts here. The first one, and I have noted this one many time before, is funding and requirements stability, both in what we call the program stages and execution stage of the program, is just paramount. That said, I fully realize with sequestration and budget control measures that we cannot control budget releases from Congress, cuts or changes. But it really does create an incredible burden on our ability to deliver systems on time. The second is one is to look seriously at decentralizing execution. As has been cited in many studies before, whether those be “Beyond Goldwater-Nichols” or the DAPA Study (Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment) that some people call the General Kadish study, it is easy for anyone along the long chain of acquisition approvals to say no or to add another layer of documentation or to change, but the ripple effect of doing that as well as what it does to the system is just overwhelming.
And I will say that as our Air Force Space Command commander (AFSPC/CC), someone who I know both you and I respect very deeply, General William Shelton, often says, “You know these times come with great opportunities and we need to seize upon them.” I couldn’t agree more with him.
DJ: Colonel Gruber, I assume you have had at least a few moments in your hectic schedule to reflect on your tenure at SMC and the GPS Directorate, so as we wind down today, can you describe your high and low points in the job? Would you in hindsight do anything differently?
BG: I think that is a great question, and I will say in all sincerity that there have actually been very few low points on this job, but there have been a couple. As you know, it has been frustrating for me to see civilian funding on GPS not come to closure. We have taken very large cuts over the last couple of years, and I am really not sure that the future is any more certain. I am not sure where we stand right now. This has a combined effect of increasing risk and potentially delaying the OCX program capabilities. Also, I was disappointed, quite frankly, to not be postured adequately to get a multi-year buy for the GPS III satellite system this time around for satellite vehicle nine and out. I truly believe that we can greatly reduce our costs through stable production line, an increased learning curve, correct incentives, and a large block buy. I really think we are going to get there, but I would really liked to have gotten this done before my successor, Colonel William “Bill” Cooley, arrives here in about a month.
As far as the high points go, Don, there are literally hundreds — seeing our folks get promoted, supporting the community activities here at Los Angeles Air Force Base, and of course the mission successes that we have enjoyed. These include, of course, the recent and successful launch of the IIF-SV4 on the 15th of May. Increasing the dependability of the GPS ground segment, and that is an actual measure, to 99.34 percent, which, by the way, is the best it has ever been in the history of the program. Awarding new contracts for on-orbit support and ground contracts that have reduced our contract costs by almost 50 percent. Another one is locking in three vendors to be able to build the next generation of GPS [ed. military] user equipment, and of course the achievements of the SMC commitments that I mentioned earlier and those that General Pawlikowski [SMC Commander] have laid out for us for the future.
So, in the big scheme of things, I am not sure that I would have done anything different, but the truth is, Don, it might take a little bit more reflection on my part, and I might answer that differently sometime in the future. But for right now I feel very confident with what we have done and very proud of what the team has taken forward with me.
DJ: Colonel Gruber I want to thank you very much for your time today, for your dedication to the GPS mission and for your service to your nation over the last 26 years. Now, this is your opportunity for a parting message and a chance to fill us in on what your future holds.
BG: I am not sure I have a parting message for you. Truth be told, leaving this program, the people in it and the great service our country provides through GPS is going to be hard to do. My three years is up, and I will be retiring from the USAF after 26 years of service. It has been a great ride. I applaud the efforts of you and your readers, our contractors, our government employees, and our international partners, of course, who continue to overcome adversity and invent new applications and services for GPS. But most of all, Don, I really want to thank the men and women who serve in deployed regions of the world. They are putting their lives on the line every single day. We owe it to them to have this system to be able to support them, anytime and anyplace.
And as to my future — I actually leave the Air Force with a smile on my face, it has been a great ride. After many discussions with my family, we are heading back to our roots in Minnesota. My wife and I are very fortunate to be able to make the decision to spend time with our parents and our families and relatives back home in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area.
DJ: Well, Bernie, I am totally surprised. I don’t think I ever heard you say, “ja shure, you bet, you know” once in all the years I have known you.
BG: Ya know, Don, I can really lay it on pretty thick when you need me to, ya know. [ed. Saying this, Bernie sounds exactly like an extra in the movie Fargo.] But seriously, we are going to spend some time with family and take it easy for awhile, and then I will explore future opportunities.
And with that comment, we wish Colonel Gruber the best of luck in the future. That’s a wrap for this month. Next month we will review some of the latest and best user equipment for our warfighters, government users, and critical first responders. So until next time, happy navigating.
This week’s Defense PNT newsletter by GPS World contributing editor Don Jewell carries an exit interview with Col. Bernard “Bernie” Gruber, who is leaving his post as director of the GPS Directorate after more than three and a half years in that position, and concluding his 26-year U.S. Air Force career. Look for the full interview later this week on the Defense PNT newsletter page. To receive subsequent issues of this monthly e-publication subscribe free here.
Here is an advance look at the extensive interview with a few selected quotes from Col. Gruber:
“We are working very hard to reduce our costs and invest in different opportunities that have a return on investment like dual launch [of GPS III] and NavSat, or I think it is NibbleSat, as you and Dr. Parkinson referred to it in your article from the National Space Symposium, which we look at as an augmentation to GPS III. That is a good thing because it can significantly reduce total lifecycle costs of the program. So we continue to look at these, amongst other items, that we will prioritize and spend our development dollars on — items such as Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries, smart solar arrays, that allow you to have more efficient use of power, more efficient power amplifiers, that are significantly shrunk down in size from what we have today. Bottom line is we will continue to work on processes that clearly show a positive value stream.”
[ . . . . . ]
“General Sheridan, as you very well know, the prior SMC Commander, had actually given me six goals when I got here. The first of those was fix the gap between OCX and GPS III. If you recall, we had about a 15-month gap in the delivery of those items. The second one was he asked me to transfer the AEP and LADO (launch, early orbit, anomaly and disposal operations) ground segment to our users [the 50th Space Wing] and get that capability to them as soon as we could, so that they could operate it and own it. The third one was fix the IIF production line. The fourth one was to get the MGUE, or military GPS user equipment, back on track and award contracts. The fifth one was build a relationship and continue that relationship with the 50th Space Wing. The last one that he actually gave me was to ready the first space vehicle for GPS III through the GNST, which of course is the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Test Bed and an engineering, manufacturing and development pathfinder for the GPS III program, used to achieve modernization. And, Don, I am happy to say that we as a team have achieved every one of those goals.”
[ . . . . . ]
“I sincerely hope that the GPS III program will be a benchmark for future space acquisition programs, both in terms of the high standards that were set for mission assurance, and the level of communication between our program office and the contractor. The GPS III program is entering the very early stages of testing right now on the first flight vehicle, and I anticipate that we will begin to see the program move down that learning curve in very short order. You know with the 15-year design life, which we put in the contract, along with stringent parts requirements and our priority on systems engineering, I really do expect that the GPS III satellites will operate beyond the standards set by the current constellation. And I do have to say that what we call our “back to basics” approach, that other folks have written about, which includes those attributes of strong systems engineering discipline, detailed manufacturing systems readiness reviews, and strict adherence to standards, are actually now showing tangible and documented results. In some cases a 60-percent reduction in our cycle time and a 70-percent reduction in discrepancies for the next delivered items. I think that is huge.”
Update: The launch window for the liftoff has been adjusted slightly to 21:38-21:56 UTC.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket’s rollout to the pad took place Tuesday. Weather forecasters have predicted an 80
percent chance of favorable conditions for launch.
The next GPS satellite launch is scheduled for May 15 with the launch window extending from 21:39 to 21:58 UTC. An Atlas 5 rocket will be used to place the satellite, GPS IIF-4, into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
This is the first time in almost 28 years that an Atlas rocket will be used to launch a GPS satellite. All of the prototype or Block I satellites were orbited with Atlas rockets. Since then, Delta rockets have been used exclusively for GPS launches. The IIF satellites are being launched with a mixture of Atlas and Delta rockets.
The IIF-4 satellite, also known as SVN66, will operate as PRN27. SVN66/PRN27 will eventually occupy the C-2 slot, replacing SVN33/PRN03, a Block IIA satellite launched in 1996. Reportedly, SVN66/PRN27 will go through an extended period of testing following launch, and is not expected to be set healthy until August. SVN33 will become a reserve or backup satellite.
Ground Stations: ER = Eastern Range; BOSS = Call sign of New Hampshire Station, New Boston Air Force Station, New Hampshire; LION = call sign of Telemetry & Command Station, Royal Air Force Oakhanger, Hampshire, U.K.; Diego Garcia = Diego Garcia Station (call sign REEF), British Indian Ocean Territory; Guam = Guam Tracking Station (call sign GUAM), Dededo, Guam. TDRS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite MES1: Centaur first main engine start MECO1: Centaur first main engine cutoff MES2: Centaur second main engine start MECO2: Centaur second main engine cutoff At spacecraft separation, the GPS satellite’s orbit will be circular with a height of 11,047 nautical miles or 20,459 kilometers and an inclination of 55 degrees.(Courtesy of SpaceFlight Now) This is the 45th Launch Support Squadron crew patch for the GPS 2F-4 mission, which is Boeing’s Space Vehicle (SV) #5. Each SV is a named for a navigation star and its constellation. SV-5 is named Vega, with constellation Lyra. On the patch, they are the large star and constellation in the background of space. The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is shown lifting the satellite from the Eastern Launch Site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Squadron mascot is a gator, and a lyra is a Greek harp. SSgt Thomas Hogan drew a “Toga-Gator” and Lt Ken Stuart did the patch design.
