In a specialized cleanroom designed to streamline satellite production, Lockheed Martin is in full production building GPS III — the world’s most powerful GPS satellite, according to the company. The company’s second GPS III satellite is now assembled and preparing for environmental testing, and the third satellite is close behind, having just received its navigation payload.
In May 2017, the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS III satellite was fully assembled and entered into Space Vehicle (SV) single line flow.
In May, the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS III satellite was fully assembled and entered into Space Vehicle (SV) single line flow when Lockheed Martin technicians successfully integrated its system module, propulsion core and antenna deck. GPS III SV02 smoothly came together through a series of carefully-orchestrated manufacturing maneuvers utilizing a 10-ton crane.
GPS III SV02 is part of the Air Force’s next generation of GPS satellites, which have three times better accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities. Spacecraft life will extend to 15 years, 25 percent longer than the newest GPS satellites on-orbit today.
“Now fully-integrated, GPS III SV02 will begin environmental testing this summer to ensure the satellite is ready for the rigors of space,” said Mark Stewart, vice president of Navigation Systems for Lockheed Martin. “This testing simulates harsh launch and space environments the satellite will endure, and further reduces any risk prior to it being available for launch in 2018.”
A Factory Full of GPS III Satellites
Right behind GPS III SV02, eight more contracted GPS III satellites are moving through production flow at Lockheed Martin’s nearly 40,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art GPS III Processing Facility near Denver.
GPS III SV03 recently completed initial power on of its bus, which contains the electronics that operate the satellite. The company received SV03’s navigation payload from its supplier, Harris Corporation, in May. After further system testing, SV03 will be ready for full integration later this fall.
GPS III SV04’s major electronics are being populated as it prepares for its own initial power on. This satellite’s navigation payload is expected to arrive and be integrated into its space vehicle before the end of the year.
Right behind the second GPS III space vehicle (GPS III SV02), eight more contracted GPS III satellites are moving through production flow at Lockheed Martin’s nearly 40,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art GPS III Processing Facility (GPF) near Denver.
Components of the next six satellites, GPS III SV05-10, are arriving at Lockheed Martin daily from more than 250 suppliers in 29 states. To date, more than 70 percent of parts and materials for SV05-08 have been received. The company was put under production contract for SV09-10 in late 2016.
All of these satellites are now following the Air Force’s first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, through a proven assembly, integration and test flow. SV01 completed its final Factory Functional Qualification Testing and was placed into storage in February 2017 ahead of its expected 2018 launch.
Investing in the Future of GPS III
With multiple satellites now in production, Lockheed Martin engineers are building GPS III smarter and faster. Key to their success is the company’s GPS III Processing Facility, a cleanroom manufacturing center designed in a virtual-reality environment to maximize production efficiency. Lockheed Martin invested $128 million in the new center, which opened in 2011.
The company’s unique satellite design includes a flexible, modular architecture that allows for the easy insertion of new technology as it becomes available in the future or if the Air Force’s mission needs change. Satellites based off this design also will already be compatible with both the Air Force’s next generation Operational Control System (OCX) and the existing GPS constellation.
“From day one, GPS III has been a team effort and our successes would not have been possible without a strong Air Force partnership,” Stewart said. “GPS III will ensure the U.S. maintains the gold standard for positioning, navigation and timing. We look forward to bringing GPS III’s new capabilities to our warfighters and beginning to launch these satellites in 2018.”
The GPS III team is led by the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Air Force Space Command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.
Lockheed Martin’s advanced tactical Group 3 unmanned aerial system (UAS) Fury is regularly flying long-range endurance test missions as the company prepares it for low-rate production.
In flight tests since May 2016, Fury has flown more than 200 hours and reliably demonstrated more than 12-hour endurance, while simultaneously operating 100 pounds of payloads, including electro-optical/infrared surveillance systems, voice communications relays, SATCOM links and multiple signals intelligence payloads.
The ramp-up in flight tests and demonstrations has grown significantly. Fury has completed more than 400 flight test hours, with significant increase in the second half of 2016.
“These flight tests have consistently proven that Fury is a true ‘anytime, anywhere’ tactical Group 3 aircraft,” said Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned systems at Lockheed Martin. “Fury can be deployed to execute strategic and tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions with endurance and capability previously found only in Group 4 systems. We continue to investment internally in Fury to deliver this proven, critical capability at the best value for our customers.”
Lockheed Martin regularly flies Fury at its operating base at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona where the team inserts pre-planned product improvements to further the Fury capability. Fury can support multiple payload integration, making it possible to efficiently execute various missions with a single aircraft.
Additionally, infrastructure is in place at Lockheed Martin manufacturing facilities to quickly deliver Fury and to rapidly scale up to full-rate production needs, Westfall said. Lockheed Martin is in discussions with potential domestic and international customers.
This month, we bring you a guest column on the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Robin Wrinn, a communications professional based in Atlanta, gives her perspective on the premier annual space event, held in early April. Among her findings: new players in space race, new capabilities afforded by 3D printing and virtual reality, and insights into the GPS III program from Lockheed Martin’s VP for navigation systems.
— Alan Cameron, editor
Blue Origin spacecraft.
A host of new entrepreneurial and government players entering the space sector created an underlying sense of excitement that a new “space race” has begun. Visitors attending the 33rd annual Space Symposium first encountered the imposing, reusable Blue Origin spacecraft displayed prominently in front of the Broadmoor Hotel Exhibit Hall. It seemed to symbolically punctuate a statement that the space industry landscape is changing — and putting long-experienced government players and government contract monopolies on notice.
Hosted by the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation, this year’s Symposium featured more than 180 exhibitors, including 38 new international partners and space, government and defense officials from more than 30 countries. In addition to the United States, other notable space nations attending included China, Germany, South Korea, Japan, high-level members of Russia’s ROSCOSMOS, and for the first time, the European GNSS Agency (GSA).
Space Recognized as a Security Asset
A primary theme throughout the speaker lineup was development of missions and programs to shore up national cyber and space security. Japan, for example, had previously banned all military use of space assets, but according to Shuzo Takada, director general of Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat, the country has established new laws in part due to growing threats from countries such as North Korea.
Europe also has joined the club of providers of navigation services and has formally acknowledged the need to defend its member countries against cyber threats. In a keynote session, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the first European Commissioner to address the Space Symposium, noted that Galileo, Europe’s GNSS, went live last December. In 2016, six Galileo satellites were launched building on the six the year before. Today, 17 leading chipset companies, representing more than the 95% of global supply, all produce Galileo-compatible products.
Bieńkowska also outlined a three-point space strategy for Europe that incentivizes innovation, including investment in R& D projects, but also prompts Europe to officially view space as a security asset. “We for the first time recognize that space is a strategic asset and a central element of Europe’s strategic autonomy. Europe must ensure its own security,” she said.
In his conference remarks, U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine welcomed addition of Galileo’s capabilities to the global satellite infrastructure, noting that GPS capabilities make it as important to our way of life as the electrical power grid. (Indeed, GPS actually enables key capabilities of the power grid through its precise timing, although Bridenstine did not mention this aspect.)
“There are very strategic risks to our satellite systems and we need to make sure the GPS, GLONASS and Galileo signals provide back0up to one another and are supported in bilateral ways. “
New Private Investment Sparks Change in Costs and Bidding
The growing presence of private investment in the space economy was very notable at this year’s Symposium. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is among several entrepreneurial companies — Elon Musk’s SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, to name two others — that are challenging the traditional drivers. These new players are upsetting the standard government agency inclination to prefer longstanding relationships over price. Now the bid price gaps are too big to ignore.
Case in point: SpaceX has twice now in two years won bids to launch GPS III satellites, with price as a major factor. According to a March 2017 U.S. Department of Defense press release, SpaceX will provide the Falcon 9 launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operation for support of the GPS III mission. The contract awards break a nearly 10-year monopoly held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Previously, Claire Leon, launch enterprise director for the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center had been quoted as saying the service views the entrance of competition as a good step that will help the government over time. “You’ll see a lot of innovation between multiple contractors to invest in the rocket systems for the United States,” she said.
Lockheed Martin Touts Digital Tapestry Savings
Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL).
During the Symposium, Lockheed Martin Space Systems invited attending media to tour its expansive Littleton, Colo. campus where it is assembling and testing both the next-generation GPS III satellite constellation and the Orion spacecraft. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the GPS III program and is under contract the U.S. Air Force to build eight position, navigation and timing satellites. The contract includes options for up to four more vehicles. In September 2016, the Air Force announced it had exercised the option for Lockheed Martin to build the ninth and tenth satellites, which will include additional hosted payloads to increase accuracy.
Throughout the tour, Lockheed Martin’s hosts emphasized the company’s cost and time efficiency innovations. We first saw the Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL), where Lockheed is using virtual reality (VR) technology to plan the design and manufacture of nearly all its aerospace components. In one of the largest VR laboratories of its kind, engineering teams review 3D models of product designs, tooling and facilities. Instead of paper, virtual prototyping enable Lockheed’s engineers to inspect holographs of the engineered designs, as well as become avatars to examine designs in virtual environments in full scale and in an immersive way. The lab also is used to conduct virtual dry runs of systems once products get to the shop floor.
Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL).
According to Darin Bolthouse, manager of the CHIL, Lockheed Martin began virtual prototyping in 2010 with an initial focus on the GPS III and the Orion space capsule programs. Now the company uses the CHIL across the enterprise for all programs. It also is looking for ways to shrink the large lab footprint with newer commercially available VR equipment to create more VR pods at other locations and a site-to-site VR environment network with other facilities, including Sunnyvale, Calif., Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center.
Again, time and cost savings were emphasized with a primary narrative that “inserting virtual modeling and model-based engineering helps from the ground up.” Touted benefits included recouping an initial investment of $5 million per year since its construction in 2010 through cost avoidance in rooting out specific engineering problems in VR that otherwise would have been discovered on the shop floor. A specific example served up was using the CHIL to virtually redesign the top deck of the Orion spacecraft three times to work out human-machine ergonomic issues.
Parts made with a 3D printer.
In another leg of the tour, Lockheed Martin showcased how it uses 3D printing to make parts for both Orion and military satellites: tubing routings, bottles and attachments. This has reportedly reduced lead time to manufacture a single part from six months to 1.5 months, with assembly time reduced from 12 hours to just three. Another added benefit is accessibility and costs of replacement parts down the road. 3D printing provides the roadmap and means to recreate a part 20 years later even if Lockheed Martin or a sub-contractor should have ceased operation.
GPS III Vehicle Rundown
The highlight of the tour was Lockheed Martin’s top secret clean room, where the next-generation GPS III satellite constellation is being assembled and tested. The expansive space included areas for integrating the parts of each satellite vehicle, as well as environment testing chambers for acoustics and thermal vacuum, which simulate space conditions with extreme temperatures, including the near and far side of Earth solar temperatures. No phones, cameras or recorders were allowed, and even then parts of the satellite vehicles were draped off from visitors’ view.
3D printer.
Prominent placards gave the GPS III Program Production Status:
Space vehicle integration forecast completion – May 2017
Environmental testing to begin – May 2017
Available for launch – 2018
Vehicle 03
Navigation Payload forecast delivery – Spring 2017
Space vehicle integration – Fall 2017
Begin environmental testing – Early 2018
Available for launch – 2019
Vehicle 04
Navigation Payload forecast delivery – Fall 2017
Space vehicle integration – Early 018
Satellite Delays Resolved
According to Lockheed Martin spokesperson Chip Eschenfelder, who spoke with GPS World during the media tour, previously reported GPS III engineering delays related to the payload have been resolved.
Lockheed Martin’s GPS III clean room in Littleton, Colorado
Lockheed subcontractor Harris Corporation provides the critical mission data unit (MDU) and other components of the navigation payload, including atomic clock timing systems, radiation-hardened computers and powerful transmitters to deliver accurate, robust navigation signals for the GPS III constellation. Last year it was discovered that a ceramic capacitor had not been subjected to all the program’s required qualification tests. Once the issue was discovered, Harris deployed a dedicated team to complete the required tests by December 2016. The issue caused a delay of four months. The part was among the more than 28,000 used in the navigation payloads for the GPS III vehicles. The company announced in February 2016 that it plans to offer a fully digital navigation payload for the GPS III’s space vehicle 11 and beyond.
According to Harris Corp. spokesperson Ellen Mitchell, the company has so far delivered two full payloads to Lockheed Martin and has delivered some of the hardware for the third space vehicle.
Another potential GPS III delay presented itself in March 2017 when the U.S. Air Force opened a review of the propulsion systems used for Lockheed Martin’s GPS III and other military satellites, following a problem during an attempt to boost one into orbit. According to Eschenfelder, the review is a standard process and was out of an abundance of caution. Lockheed is“confident that this review will not delay the Air Force’s planned spring 2018 Initial Launch Capability (ILC).”
Further comments on the GPS III program came in a subsequent conversation I held with Mark Stewart, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for Navigation Systems:
Q: GPS III has extensive military applications. What differences will it bring to the civil, end-user experience as compared to today’s?
A: Millions of commercial and civilian users rely on GPS every day. GPS III begins a new era of improved Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) performance for these civilian users in that it will be the first GPS satellite transmitting a new L1C civil signal designed to be compatible and interoperable with other international Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), like Galileo and QZSS. In the near future, civilian GPS receivers – like those found in smart phones — will be looking for L1C and compatible signals from satellites from multiple GNSS constellations, including GPS III. With more opportunities for GPS receivers to maintain “line-of-sight” L1C connections, civilian users will have much improved connectivity.
Q: What is the impact of the OCX/ground segment delay? Won’t that impact realizing GPS III’s full capabilities on time?
A: The first GPS III satellite, GPS III Space Vehicle 1 (GPS III SV01), was placed in storage on Feb. 27 and is now awaiting call up for launch from the Air Force. GPS III SV01 will need the Next Generation OCX Block 0 to launch. We are working closely with the Air Force and Raytheon to demonstrate GPS III SV01 operating on orbit as soon as possible. It is more appropriate for the U.S. Air Force and Raytheon to comment about OCX’s capabilities and what it will bring to the overall GPS III enterprise.
OCX Block 1 is the baseline program under development to command and control GPS III satellites. As a temporary gap-filler until OCX Block 1 is available, the Air Force placed Lockheed Martin under contract for “GPS III Contingency Operations” (COps), which will enable the current GPS Operational Control Segment (OCS) to checkout and operate GPS III satellites prior to the delivery of OCX Block 1. Lockheed Martin’s COps program successful completed a Critical Design Review in November 2016, on schedule for delivery in 2019.
Q: How do you see the future of GPS in a multi-constellation environment (considering that soon in addition to GPS and the Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo and the Chinese Baidoo will be fully operational)? And what does that mean for the civilian end-user?
A: Civilian multi-constellation users will significantly benefit from the new L1C signal, designed be compatible and interoperable with the Galileo E1 Open Service (OS) signal. In addition, GPS navigation messages include the GPS/GNSS-time offsets to enable a multi-constellation PNT solution.
Q: Galileo will be implementing a Commercial Service already in the first generation. Do you think that such a service could be implemented in the future on GPS?
A: Ultimately the capabilities of future GPS satellites will be determined by the Air Force. That said, Lockheed Martin’s GPS III was specifically designed to be flexible and modular so in the future the satellite could easily incorporate new missions if they are deemed necessary, and new technology as it becomes available.
Q: What were and are the technology challenges Lockheed Martin faced during the GPS-Ill development?
A: GPS III is the most powerful GPS satellite ever designed, with three times greater accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capability. That increased signal power comes from a revolutionary new navigation payload. Early in development our payload provider, Harris Corporation, had some design challenges. Those issues were eventually overcome and fully validated when GPS III SV01 successfully completed its Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) test in December 2015. We are excited to be bringing GPS III’s new capabilities to our warfighters soon.
Q: How do GPS III satellites compare with Galileo FOC satellite constellation? Achieve parity (Galileo 2 frequency, current GPS 1)? or leapfrogging over Galileo technology?
A: I cannot speak for Galileo’s capabilities but the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) has been the gold standard for PNT for more than 20 years. Lockheed Martin’s GPS experience includes more than 250 collective years of on-orbit operations for the 19 GPS IIR and IIR-M satellites that make up about 60 percent in today’s GPS constellation. With GPS III being the most powerful GPS satellite ever designed and built, I am confident GPS III will maintain that PNT gold standard ranking.
Q: There were clock anomalies in Galileo. What are you doing to avoid similar issues? Are GPS III clock’s different or the same?
A: GPS III Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standards (RAFS) have evolved from GPS IIR and IIR-M RAFS, which have collectively and reliably provided more than 250 years of on-orbit service, including significant time beyond their intended design lives. Our GPS III RAFS clocks undergo rigorous environmental qualification and life tests to assure performance over this next generation satellite’s 15-year design life. In addition, each GPS III SV includes multiple RAFS for redundancy. GPS III continually monitors the active RAFS to detect and mitigate clock anomalies. This is just one way that GPS III provides increased signal integrity for GPS users.
Galileo clocks utilize different suppliers than GPS III clocks. The GPS III clock supplier has produced reliable RAFS clocks for GPS satellites over the past several decades.
[end of Mark Stewart interview]
Ground Control
The GPS III satellite program is heavily dependent on the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), which according to government officials has experienced developmental issues and remains under General Accounting Office (GAO) scrutiny.
In assessing the implications, it’s important to note that OCX’s development is delivered in blocks, with Block 0 comprising the Launch and Checkout System required to take GPS III satellites into early orbit. Block 1 is built on Block 0 and will deliver the full OCX capability, allowing the Air Force to transition from its current GPS ground controls to the modernized and secure GPS OCX master control station.
According to the OCX prime contractor, Raytheon, all coding for Block 0 is complete and testing is wrapping up for delivery. Block 1 development is ongoing with the final iteration estimated to be completed in late 2018.
Findings in a recent GAO report are prompting examination of the reasons for the cost overruns and delays in military development programs. Meanwhile, the Air Force is looking at ways to modify the existing GPS control system to enable the operational use of the GPS III satellites until delivery of the OCX Block 1. Regardless, the Air Force may need to delay the launch of multiple GPS III satellites, according to the GAO.
Mr. Bezos, Mr. Musk, Mr. Branson … are you out there?
Lockheed Martin responded to a report by Bloomberg last week that the U.S. Air Force has opened a review of the propulsion systems used for Lockheed Martin’s GPS III and other military satellites, following a problem during an attempt to boost one into orbit.
A Lockheed spokesperson said the first GPS III satellite passed all of its qualification testing and verification.
“On Feb. 27, the Air Force declared GPS III Space Vehicle 01 (SV01) ready for storage following the completion of all space vehicle Factory Functional Qualification Testing (FFQT) and successful verification of more than 30,000 pre-storage technical requirements,” responded Chip Eschenfelder, communications lead for Lockheed’s Military Space division.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Air Force and Lockheed Martin are thoroughly evaluating the A2100 GPS III Propulsion Subsystem, prior to declaring the satellite Available for Launch (AFL),” Eschenfelder said. “This review is a standard process for our rigorous systems engineering approach to assure mission success.”
The plan remains to launch the first GPS III satellite by spring of 2018.
“Lockheed Martin is working closely with the Air Force on resolving any concerns about the mission readiness of SV01’s Propulsion Subsystem,” Eschenfelder said. “We are confident that this review will not delay the Air Force’s planned spring 2018 Initial Launch Capability (ILC).”
Today, more than 50 Lockheed Martin A2100 bus satellites are operating successfully on orbit.
The U.S. Air Force has opened a review of the propulsion systems used for Lockheed Martin’s GPS III and other military satellites after a problem during an attempt to boost one into orbit, according to the service, Bloomberg reports.
The review has delayed the Air Force’s acceptance of Lockheed’s first GPS III satellite, which is 34 months late. The most recent delivery goal had been Feb. 28, and the plan remains to launch it by spring of 2018.
While there’s no evidence that the propulsion system on the first GPS III satellite has a flaw, the Air Force has decided to keep it in storage at a Lockheed facility out of an abundance of caution, Captain AnnMarie Annicelli, an Air Force spokeswoman, told Bloomberg. It was placed into storage after having successfully completed all planned test and integration activities.
The U.S. Air Force approved Lockheed Martin’s design to upgrade the current GPS satellite ground control system with new capabilities that will enable it to operate more powerful and accurate GPS III satellites.
The successful Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Contingency Operations (COps) contract, completed on Nov. 17, gives Lockheed Martin a green light to proceed with software development and systems engineering to modify the existing GPS ground control system, called the Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control Segment.
SV 01 in testing at Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility. (Photo: LMCO)
The AEP is currently maintained by Lockheed Martin and controls the 31 GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites in orbit today.
The COps modifications will allow the AEP to support the more powerful, next generation GPS Block III satellites, enabling them to perform their positioning, navigation and timing mission, once they are launched. COps is envisioned as a temporary gap filler prior to the entire GPS constellation’s transition to operations onto the next generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 1, currently in development.
“The GPS constellation is a valuable asset to our warfighters, our nation and the world. This risk-reduction effort ensures the Air Force has the ability to maintain the constellation at full strength,” said Mark Stewart, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area. “We are here to support the Air Force and the GPS III program any way we can.”
The Air Force awarded the $96 million COps services and supplies contract to Lockheed Martin on February 3. The government approved the company’s proposed ground system modification during a Preliminary Design Review on May 11.
On Oct. 15, under a separate contract, Lockheed Martin completed the Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Upgrade #2 (CUP2) project — part of a multi-year plan to refresh the AEP’s technology and enhance the system’s ability to protect data and infrastructure from internal and external cyber threats, as well as improve its overall sustainability and operability. CUP2 is now fully operational and managing the current GPS 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.
Lockheed Martin also is under contract to develop and build the Air Force’s first ten GPS III satellites, which will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities and extend spacecraft life to 15 years, 25 percent longer than the newest GPS satellites on-orbit today.
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.
I’m proud to be a part of the accomplishments of the men and women of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning System Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California. The year has been extremely challenging, but looking back on 2016, we have taken real steps forward to modernize the GPS Enterprise and the way we do business. I’d like to share some of our major accomplishments (see “2016 Accomplishments” below) and challenges, and provide some insights for 2017 and beyond.
Col. Steven Whitney. (Photo: USAF)
Civil Partnerships
While much of our focus is on military capabilities, GPS is a global utility with very strong ties to the civil community. The same principles of transparency and communication are cornerstones of our relationships with the various stakeholders.
One example of this is our work with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation, where the safety-of-life applications are a key element of our discussions. To ensure a transparent, communication-rich relationship, we hold quarterly program management reviews with these organizations and their stakeholders.
The GPS Directorate continues to actively participate on a number of committees, such as the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee, that are key to maintaining ties to our civil stakeholders and ensuring that we have an effective flow of information both to and from the Directorate.
We are currently engaged in the DOT-led Adjacent Band Compatibility study, initiated by the National Space-Based PNT Executive Committee. This year will see the culmination of the effort to determine power levels from potential future adjacent-band sources that are compatible with existing and evolving GPS receivers, and serve as a foundation to determine power levels compatible with evolving GPS/GNSS receivers.
This study exemplifies our strong ties with the greater GPS community, as well as my push for the Directorate’s efforts to be as transparent as possible, execute data-driven decisions, and be guided by widely accepted international standards.
Space Segment
A key milestone occurred Feb. 5, 2016, with the launch of our 12th and final GPS IIF satellite. This marked the end of an extremely successful GPS IIF launch campaign and our most aggressive launch schedule in the last 20+ years: eight successful launches in 24 months!
The addition of the GPS IIF satellites to the constellation enabled the system to reach its best performance day ever on May 11, 2016, achieving 36.5-centimeter accuracy in average user range error.
Col. Whitney with the Green Monster, mascot of the U.S. Air Force GPS Directorate. (Photo: USAF)
Moving over to our next generation GPS III satellites, SV-01 continues to make steady progress. In August, the team executed successful functional and physical configuration audits with Lockheed Martin, completing a key task on the road to achieving our available for launch (AFL) date. The AFL declaration signifies completion of production activities, and allows initiation of the Mission Readiness Campaign for launch upon Air Force direction.
As we march towards AFL, we are tackling several technical challenges, including a capacitor issue discovered during our investigation of SV-03 flight hardware tests. This capacitor is used in many places throughout the navigation payload. Our investigation uncovered inadequate qualification processes by a major subcontractor. Exercising due diligence, the Air Force is now verifying both the build quality of the entire capacitor manufacturing process and production lot via additional capacitor qualification life testing. This activity delayed our AFL until December 2016, approximately a four-month delay from our previous forecast.
The program is also working to solve several other technical challenges as we progress to completion. SV-01 testing uncovered electro-magnetic interference between a payload component and a hosted payload. Testing also uncovered electron impact issues on the L-band antenna elements. In partnership with Lockheed Martin, the program developed corrective action and design mitigations for both of these issues and is implementing these steps within our production flow for all the SVs. Of course, all these issues together have led to increased cost and contributed to delays in final delivery.
In the coming year, SV-02, the second GPS III satellite, will also be progressing towards completing production. Currently, all of the SV-02 sub-assemblies have been received by Lockheed Martin and are being integrated into the spacecraft. The next major step in the production flow for SV-02 will be to mate it with its propulsion core.
Recently, we completed negotiations with Lockheed Martin to extend the production line with purchases of SV-09 and SV-10. These satellites will be technically equivalent to SV-01 through SV-08. This $395 million purchase of two satellites marks a significant affordability milestone for the procurement of GPS III satellites.
Looking ahead, we are analyzing how to acquire satellites beyond SV-10. We are executing a phased strategy which starts first with determining the viability of a GPS III production design existing beyond the current contractor. We awarded an initial phase of contracts to the Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in May 2016 to provide a feasibility assessment of the readiness of their satellites designs. In this phase, the contractors will provide a GPS III production design, manufacturing plans and a navigation payload brassboard test report, along with manufacturing/production processes and facilities maturity.
We are also collaborating closely on an Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate activity, the On-orbit Reprogrammable Digital Waveform Generator program, as an opportunity for the three contractors to develop advanced GPS L-band navigation signal processing capabilities in a smaller, more efficient package. This effort could potentially provide future satellites enhanced security in contested environments, more capable signal generation, and additional GPS waveforms to meet the growing needs of both military and civilian users.
Looking further ahead, the second phase is envisioned to be a full and open competition with contract awards starting in 2018. Contractors will be required to deliver the first satellite in time to support constellation sustainment commitments.
Control Segment
Our Control Segment consists of both OCX and our existing Operational Control Segment at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. The OCX program has struggled with many challenges through the years, producing a cost and schedule growth on OCX that exceeded the prescribed thresholds — in our case, a 25 percent cost growth against the approved Program Baseline.
I notified the Secretary of the Air Force on June 14 of this development, and on June 30 the Air Force declared a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach on the OCX program. The Nunn-McCurdy process is a mechanism for Congress to maintain oversight of DoD programs and requires the Office of the Secretary of Defense to conduct a review leading to a decision to either certify as critical to National Security or terminate the program.
The GPS Directorate and Raytheon, the OCX prime contractor, worked closely with teams conducting this in-depth, comprehensive review. The result was determined on Oct. 12 that OCX is essential to national security that no alternatives exist to meet requirements at less cost, remaining costs for the restructured program are reasonable and a higher priority than programs whose funding must be reduced to accommodate the growth, and management structure for the program is adequate.
With the review behind us, our challenge is to move forward with a stronger, healthier, more focused OCX program. To accomplish this, we are focused on several major areas: stronger systems engineering practices, establishing a single common hardware/environments baseline, greater software installation automation, and implementing industry standard software development processes.
One of our first milestones next year will be the delivery and deployment of OCX Block 0 in the summer of 2017. Block 0 is the GPS III Launch and Checkout System and provides a subset of the full OCX capabilities needed to launch the GPS III satellites and perform early on-orbit spacecraft bus checkout.
This delivery starts the drive for our inaugural launch of GPS III SV-01 in the spring of 2018. Raytheon completed two Block 0 key milestones since March 2016, and is now in formal qualification testing before it is deployed to operations early next year. The next year will see OCX development focused on Block 1. It provides the Initial Operating Capability to command and control all GPS satellites and enable the PNT mission, including the international L1C signal and advanced M-code features and capabilities.
Because OCX Block 0 is not designed to control the GPS III navigation payload, we are modifying the existing OCS to control GPS III satellites under Contingency Operations, or COps. COps will allow operation of the GPS III satellites launched prior to OCX Block 1 delivery in 2021, and provides the Air Force the ability to fly GPS III satellites at a capability level commensurate to a GPS IIF.
Our COps program has made good progress, completing its Preliminary Design Review last May and successfully passed Milestone B in September. COps is on track to hold its Critical Design Review in November, with delivery planned for the spring of 2019. We are exploring other potential OCS modifications to hedge against further delays in OCX.
Our OCS sustainment team in Colorado Springs recently completed the largest system update in program history. This update is part of our focus to refresh and bolster the cyber posture of the GPS architecture, and modernize the GPS control segment mission servers and hosted commercial software. These upgrades will protect against infiltration of cyber threats and enable improved data traffic logging for network situational awareness to protect this global utility.
User Equipment Segment
Like our other segments, our User Equipment segment had a very challenging but successful year. The MGUE program has worked steadily with our entire industry team, L-3 Communications, Raytheon, and Rockwell-Collins, to complete and test MGUE Increment 1 production prototypes. These Final Test Articles, or FTAs, started delivering this summer and are now capable of acquiring and actively tracking live-sky M-code. With the initial risk reduction testing phase complete, the Directorate will now use the FTAs to perform MGUE developmental testing and verification and hardware qualification testing.
The L-3 design was also the first on our program team to achieve security certification this October, which marks the very first security-certified M-code receiver card. This not only validates the L-3 design and production, it also validates the GPS security certification process, an enduring function for the Directorate in working with industry. This certification also leads the way for the product to be available to a wide variety of users across the DoD.
While progress in MGUE has been significant, creating the next-generation of secure, anti-jam, anti-spoof receivers has been more time-consuming and costly than expected. The drive to support warfighter needs for greater performance drives a diverse set of requirements across the DoD. The Air Force made a concerted effort to improve the resiliency of the MGUE receivers, adding complexity to the program. Combined, these challenges have led to extended delivery schedules for the program.
In the coming years, the MGUE team will lead efforts to integrate MGUE cards into four lead DoD platforms: the Air Force’s B-2 bomber, the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the Army’s Distributed Defense Advanced GPS Receiver Device for the Stryker armored fighting vehicle, and the Marine Corps’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
The four lead platforms provide pathfinder integrations and operational testing for the entire DoD community as we move into the modernized GPS era. The program office has already been working closely with the B-2 Program Office and the Joint Service System Management Office in fielding an M-code capable flight prototype Miniaturized Airborne GPS Receiver.
We have worked jointly on this first lead platform integration effort to field the first ever MGUE receiver integration into a higher order prototype unit. These efforts yielded tremendous integration insights. Prototype lab testing demonstrated live-sky tracking of C/A, Y and M-codes; testing of MGUE connected with a new B-2 flight antenna; and culminating in the first end-to-end demonstration of M-code capability.
In 2017, the GPS Directorate will set the acquisition strategy and plan forward for the MGUE Increment 2 program, addressing our long-term strategy for Application Specific Integrated Circuits, as well as meeting the needs of future platforms such as precision guided munitions, space receivers, and a modernized GPS handheld.
The Space Enterprise Vision
Earlier this year, General John Hyten, former commander of Air Force Space Command, announced the Space Enterprise Vision. The SEV is the result of an AFSPC study that looked at ensuring national security space capabilities in a contested environment, with an emphasis on improved resiliency. In the PNT mission area, there are many ways to provide greater resiliency in-line with General Hyten’s SEV. One that we are leaning forward and looking very hard at is multi-GNSS possibilities.
At the recent Institute of Navigation conference, many presenters noted that for the consumer market, the multi-GNSS era has already begun. Potential incorporation of non-GPS signals into military user equipment is still under review, but certainly offers the possibility of improving resilience to jamming, spoofing, and operations in obstructed terrain. The broader GPS community is developing approaches to assess multi-GNSS integrity, and we are working with those community members to evaluate the potential impacts to our GPS architecture, especially the ground.
Another resiliency initiative we are participating in is a DOT-led effort known as Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring backed by PNT experts from the labs and academia. Once the technical aspects are well understood and the policy decisions are made, the GPS Directorate will be well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity.
Conclusion
2016 has been a very challenging and successful year. Looking forward into 2017 and beyond, we have numerous challenges across all segments of the Enterprise — OCX, GPS III, and MGUE — to deliver a modernized architecture. The men and women of the GPS Directorate and our Industry partners are truly some of the hardest working people I have ever had the opportunity to work with. It is their passion and dedication that has allowed us to continue to deliver the Gold Standard. It is my honor to serve with, and for, them.
2016 Accomplishments
Our GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System, or OCX program, received the majority of the press attention this year. OCX has struggled to overcome information assurance challenges, as well as poor systems engineering processes and planning from the outset of the program. The cost and schedule growth triggered a rigorous review by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The outcome, we believe, will be a restructured, more executable program that is implementing stronger systems engineering practices and industry-standard software development processes. We still have a ways to go to be successful, but realize we must deliver the capability to command our GPS satellites and will continue to explore programmatic off-ramps should the OCX program falter.
The past year also saw us bring to a close the GPS IIF production and deployment activities with the successful launch of our 12th and final GPS IIF satellite. Our GPS constellation remains healthy, stable and robust with 31 operational space vehicles: 12 GPS IIR, seven GPS IIR-M, and 12 GPS IIF.
We ushered in the GPS III era with the completion of Space Vehicle-01 thermal vacuum testing late in 2015 in an unprecedented 72 days. We have, however, uncovered several technical issues challenging our availability for launch. As we ready SV-01, a tremendous effort is ongoing to fully investigate and exonerate these issues to ensure our satellites deliver the capabilities you’ve come to expect from the Gold Standard.
This year our partners in the Launch Enterprise Directorate awarded a GPS III launch services contract to the Space Exploration Technology Corporation, or SpaceX — their first National Security Space System launch.
Finally, our Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program delivered its first set of Military Code compliant production prototypes for developmental testing and integration. Just as significant, the MGUE program granted the first-ever full security certification to contractor L-3 Communications. These major GPS modernization milestones are successful initial steps, but the progress in delivering the most secure, anti-jam, anti-spoof GPS receivers ever has taken longer than expected, and a great deal of work lies ahead.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the year’s accomplishments and challenges, but it demonstrates that we are continuing to modernize the GPS system and maintain transparency on our commitments.
Lockheed Martin has completed a major upgrade to modernize the current ground control system of the U.S. Air Force’s GPS constellation.
The Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Upgrade #2 (CUP2) project is the latest step in the Air Force’s multi-year plan to refresh technology and transform the legacy Operational Control Segment — known as the Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) — into a modern, high-performance command and control system.
On Oct. 15, CUP2 became fully operational and began managing the 31 GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites that make up today’s GPS constellation.
Capt. Adam Moody, 2SOPS GPS Operations Support flight commander, and Staff Sgt. Carl Ellinger, 2 SOPS GPS mission chief, review a checklist of procedures for a transfer operation at Schriever Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force photo/Dennis Rogers)
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the CUP2 project in November 2013 under its GPS Control Segment (GCS) contract, and the system is now fully deployed into the AEP’s GPS Master Control Station and the Alternate Master Control Station.
This is the third major technology refresh of the GPS command and control system since the GCS contract began in January 2013.
This upgrade to the existing ground control system provides the Air Force with flexibility. In May, as part of Contingency Operations (COps) under the GPS III contract, Lockheed Martin demonstrated a preliminary design to build off CUP2 and further upgrade the AEP to support next-generation GPS III satellites as they perform their positioning, navigation and timing mission. COps is a temporary gap filler prior to the entire GPS constellation’s transition onto the next-generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 1, which is currently in development.
“Under CUP2, Lockheed Martin and the Air Force installed modern commercial hardware and a major software upgrade that enhances the system’s ability to protect data and infrastructure from cyber threats, as well as improves its overall sustainability and operability,” said Vinny Sica, vice president and general manager of Mission Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “Continued modernization and cyber-hardening of the GPS control system is vitally important to the sustainment of navigation services for our military and all global GPS users.”
The GPS Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center contracted the CUP2 upgrade. Air Force Space Command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.
Harris Corporation delivered the first of 34 modernized receivers to support the GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX). They will receive the signals sent by the current GPS satellite constellation plus the new signals sent by the next generation GPS III — 13 military and civilian signals in all.
The receiver was shipped to the prime contractor, Raytheon Company, in Aurora, Colorado, after it passed a critical electromagnetic interference test, the first of many stringent qualification requirements. Though the receivers will be placed throughout the world, this first production unit will be installed in Aurora as OCX software development and integration continues.
OCX will replace the existing ground control system that receives signals from the 31 operational GPS satellites already orbiting Earth. Only OCX will be able to receive and decrypt all GPS III military and civil signals, however.
In addition to receivers, Harris has delivered 14 ground encryptors that will help protect the GPS signal. Harris also is providing critical software elements, which provide the fundamental navigation data to the GPS satellites and enable U.S. Air Force operators to better know and monitor the exact position and timing of the GPS constellation.
Risk Reduction Testing Completed for GPS OCX
Image: Raytheon
Raytheon reached a milestone in development of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), completing a series of Risk Reduction functional checkouts of OCX Block 1 capabilities, with a focus on OCX software.
This activity integrated iteration 1.5 of the OCX Block 1 Master Control Station with the GPS System Simulator and ran operational scenarios, representing the first end-to-end integration of available Block 1 capabilities.
The testing included GPS constellation management and sustainment, demonstrating OCX’s abilities for precision navigation and timing capabilities in a fully cyber-hardened environment.
The test also included running Kalman filters and generating GPS satellite navigation uploads. Future development will add to and expand capability to include both the civil and military modernized signals.
OCX’s development is delivered in “blocks,” with Block 0 comprising the Launch and Checkout System to take GPS III satellites into early orbit. Block 1 is built on Block 0 and delivers the full OCX capability, which allows the Air Force to transition from its current GPS ground controls to the modernized and secure GPS OCX master control station.
GPS OCX is being developed by Raytheon under contract to the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
M-Code User Equipment Certified
L-3 Communications announced that its next-generation military code (M-code) GPS user equipment has successfully completed the final step in a government security certification process. L-3’s M-code GPS features advanced user equipment technology, increasing soldiers’ ability to resist enemy jamming and spoofing and performing significantly better in contested environments. The development and certification of this technology was performed under the Air Force Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program led by the GPS Directorate.
Certification review was performed by an independent government review team, with a focus on the security design of the L-3 GPS User Equipment. The goal of these new security standards is to further protect the integrity of the navigation and timing solutions and provide required safeguards for critical information inside GPS User Equipment.
Work on this project will be done by L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation (L-3 IEC), which is part of the Precision Engagement and Training sector within L-3’s Electronic Systems business segment.
The first eight GPS III satellites are under contract and in production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
GPS III Satellites 9 and 10 Procured, Launches Targeted for 2022
The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded a contract option to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to procure two additional GPS III satellites, space vehicles nine and 10 of the next generation. The contract option procures long lead and production hardware.
“The GPS III SV 9 and 10 satellites are expected to be ready for launch in 2022, thus sustaining the GPS constellation and the global utility the world has come to expect,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, the Space and Missile Systems Center’s commander.
The Lockheed Martin team is finishing up final testing and integration activities on the first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, and is preparing to deliver it to the Air Force later this year. The second satellite, GPS III SV02, is poised to have its major functional systems fully integrated into one space vehicle prior to starting its own environmental testing. GPS III SV03 also is beginning to take form in the company’s production clean room as its major subcomponents are being assembled. All eight of the first set of GPS III satellites are in various stages of production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
The government expects to compete future purchases of GPS III satellites, beginning with GPS III SV 11. This competition will maintain the current technical baseline of GPS III and will add additional hosted payloads to increase system accuracy, search-and-rescue capability, and universal S-band compatibility.
European GNSS Service Centre Opens
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) is gearing up to assume its operational role for Galileo in early 2017. This summer, the GSA formally accepted the Loyola de Palacio facility in Madrid, Spain, that houses the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC). This is a significant milestone in the development of the programme and its service provision as Galileo’s “door to the GNSS world.”
GSA already oversees the operation and service provision for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), along with managing the security accreditation and general security provision for both programmes.
The GSC offers 1,100 square metres of space and employs over 40 people. Since 2013, the core team at GSC has been providing limited services and working as a precursor to GSC v1. Its key work includes supporting the lead up to Galileo Initial Services provision, along with operating the GSC Helpdesk, disseminating orbital products to the search-and-rescue community, supporting GNSS-related research and industrial activity, and monitoring user satisfaction.
Once operational, GSC v1 will be connected to the Galileo core system, enabling the long-anticipated Commercial Service. This service is expected to enter operations by mid-2017.
The first eight GPS III satellites are under contract and in production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded a contract option to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to procure two additional GPS III satellites, space vehicles nine and 10 of the next generation. The contract option procures long lead and production hardware.
“The GPS III SV 9 and 10 satellites are expected to be ready for launch in 2022, thus sustaining the GPS constellation and the global utility the world has come to expect,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, the Space and Missile Systems Center’s commander and Air Force program executive officer for space.
The Lockheed Martin team is finishing up final testing and integration activities on the first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, and is preparing to deliver it to the Air Force later this year. The second satellite, GPS III SV02, is poised to have its major functional systems fully integrated into one space vehicle prior to starting its own environmental testing. GPS III SV03 also is beginning to take form in the company’s production clean room as its major subcomponents are being assembled. \All eight of the first set of GPS III satellites are in various stages of production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
The government expects to compete future purchases of GPS III satellites, beginning with GPS III SV 11. This competition will maintain the current technical baseline of GPS III and will add additional hosted payloads to increase system accuracy, search and rescue capability, and universal S-band compatibility.
Lockheed Martin has pushed back the delivery of the first GPS III satellite by four months after discovering that a subcontractor failed to conduct testing on a ceramic capacitor, part of the navigation payload, according to Bloomberg.
Delivery of the satellite was expected in August, but will now be delayed four more months and won’t be shipped until at least December. The satellite is already 28 months late.
While the Air Force has said the satellite would launch no earlier than 2017, some industry officials expect that a 2018 launch is more likely especially as the Pentagon absorbs delays with the next-generation GPS ground system known as the Operational Control Segment, Bloomberg reports.
Read more about the federal budget’s impact on GPS in Contributing Editor Don Jewell’s latest Defense PNT column.
Testing of the part, a ceramic capacitor, should have been completed as long as five years ago, including evaluating how long it will operate without failing, Colonel Steve Whitney, program manager for the GSP program, told the website. About 600 of the capacitors are on the initial satellite, which cost approximately $529 million.
The capacitor is part of a series of circuit cards that take higher voltage power from the satellite’s power system and reduce it to a voltage required for a particular subsystem.
Lockheed Martin is set to launch the WorldView-4 high-resolution imaging satellite for DigitalGlobe aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Sept. 16. WorldView-4, also built by Lockheed Martin, will capture photos and data about Earth.
With the WorldView-4 satellite, DigitalGlobe more than doubles its ability to deliver images of Earth at 30-centimeter resolution — sharp enough to identify the make of an automobile. WorldView-4 will orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, capturing 600,000 square miles of imagery everyday.
Artist’s rendering of the DigitalGlobe WorldView-4 satellite in orbit. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
Rocket/Payload: Atlas V 401 flying the WorldView-4 mission for customer DigitalGlobe.
Location: Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 16, 2016
Launch Time: The launch window opens at 11:30 a.m. PDT and closes at 11:44 a.m. PDT. Separation occurs approximately 20 minutes after liftoff.
Mission Description: This mission will deliver the WorldView-4 satellite into a 617 km, sun-synchronous orbit for DigitalGlobe, the global leader in earth imagery and information about our changing planet.
By leveraging DigitalGlobe’s advanced constellation scheduling system to operate in concert with WorldView-3, WorldView-4 will more than double DigitalGlobe’s coverage of the world’s highest-resolution 30 cm commercial satellite imagery.
Once launched, the satellite will orbit earth every 90 minutes, traveling 17,000 miles per hour and capturing as much as 680,000 square kilometers of the Earth’s surface daily (18 terabytes) – the equivalent of the land area of Texas.
Also aboard the launch will be seven U.S. Government-owned CubeSats that will be deployed after separation of the WorldView-4 satellite.
Launch Provider: Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services is the exclusive provider of Atlas V rockets to all non-U.S. government customers. With dedicated launch sites and unparalleled orbital insertion accuracy, Atlas V is unmatched for performance, reliability and schedule assurance.
Updates: To keep up-to-speed with updates to the launch and learn more about the WorldView-4 mission visit www.lockheedmartin.com/worldview4.
