Tag: OCX

Directions 2015: What It Takes to Make a Gold Standard

By Colonel William T. “Bill” Cooley, U.S. Air Force, Director, Global Positioning System

Last year in my “Directions” article, I emphasized the commitment made by the U.S. government to ensure GPS signals are available to all users, and I shared some of our excitement in the GPS Directorate regarding the modernized capabilities we are developing and fielding. This year I’d like to share with you progress we’ve made in the past 12 months, provide an update on the modernization initiatives, and challenge civil users and receiver companies to innovate and accelerate these modernized capabilities for users worldwide.

This past year has been productive for the GPS program. The most visible progress was the addition of four new Boeing-built GPS IIF satellites to the GPS constellation, bringing the total number of available satellites from 36 to 39 (SVN-33 was safely disposed in October 2014, or the number would be 40). These additions also reduced the average age of the satellites on orbit from 11.1 to 10.3 years. This year’s GPS launch tempo had not been matched since the early 1990s! Table 1 lists the current satellites in the constellation by block.

TABLE 1. GPS constellation as of October 31, 2014.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the GPS satellite constellation is the ever-improving performance. As I mentioned last year, the 2008 Standard Positioning Service (SPS) Performance Standard, issued by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, codifies our commitment to civil users. Among other attributes that make GPS the “gold standard” for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), the SPS requires a signal-in-space (SIS) user range error (URE) of 4.0 meters or less for every healthy satellite. The SIS URE is the difference between a GPS satellite’s navigation message (for example, ephemeris data and satellite clock correction data) versus the truth (for example, satellite transmit antenna location and satellite clock offset from GPS time). While the commitment of the U.S. government is four meters or less, the actual average performance over the past year has been 0.68 meters and in the past quarter has been an impressive 0.63 meters!

While this is admirable, continued modernization efforts will allow us even better performance. A significant contributor to the errors experienced by GPS receivers are ionospheric delays that can be eliminated only with knowing the characteristics of the ionosphere (free electron density in the region roughly 100-1,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface) or by using two signals at different known frequencies. While systems like Federal Aviation Administration Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and the U.S. Coast Guard National Differential GPS (NDGPS) provide a modeled approximation of the ionosphere, the new L2C and L5 civil signals on the GPS IIR-M, GPS IIF, and soon-to-launch GPS III satellites enable GPS receivers to directly measure and eliminate the ionospheric delays altogether — thereby delivering on the GPS modernization program first announced in 1999. These new signals began pre-operational Civil Navigation (CNAV) message broadcast on 28 April 2014 (with the L2C signal set “healthy” and L5 set “unhealthy” until sufficient monitoring capability is established).

With CNAV now on the air, civil users should take advantage of it. My challenge to commercial receiver companies and innovators is to incorporate the modernized signals in future receivers and continue to improve user experience and GPS performance. Currently 14 L2C-broadcasting satellites are in the constellation, and by early 2016 we expect to have 19 on-orbit and transmitting L2C (7 GPS IIR-Ms and 12 GPS IIFs). GPS modernization is well on its way from a signal-in-space perspective; receiver manufacturers and innovators must bring new, improved products and solutions to users.

Less visible but real progress modernizing the GPS Enterprise is underway with the next generation of GPS satellites, ground control, and user equipment segments. The first GPS III satellite and the newly developed navigation payload have been delayed approximately two years from the original planned delivery of the completed GPS III satellite of October 2014. But in September of this year, the GPS III navigation payload was shipped from Exelis (the payload subcontractor) in Clifton, New Jersey, to Lockheed Martin’s (GPS III prime contractor) facility in Waterton, Colorado. There, it completed the payload-level thermal vacuum testing at the end of October, a key step toward payload and eventually satellite vehicle delivery. The first GPS III satellite is now 87% complete and the program is making solid progress.

The GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX), with Raytheon as the prime contractor, experienced significant challenges in development but can also claim measurable progress this year. Complex cyber-security requirements and their implementation drove a significant number of these challenges, but are essential to provide civil and military GPS users with a secure and resilient command and control system. These and other challenges resulted in significant cost and schedule overruns and a two-year delay to the program, which drove an update to the development plan. The revised OCX plan reflects the complexity of implementing these unique cyber requirements and accounts for planned improvements to Raytheon’s systems engineering and software development approach. The plan establishes a schedule meeting GPS III’s projected first-launch date.

Despite its challenges, OCX development completed four end-to-end space-to-ground launch readiness exercises with GPS III, as well as entered the formal integration and test phase. The new monitoring station receivers are entering qualification test, and the first production receiver is on track to be delivered in spring of 2015. OCX is on track to provide robust PNT services, improvements in URE accuracy, enable access to new military and civil signals, and provide cyber security for the GPS ground control.

Our development of Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) is another area where we have made important strides this past year. We started the year by developing a commercial market-based acquisition approach that will accelerate delivery of MGUE systems by years. In this effort, we want to establish a race to a certified marketplace where the U.S. government serves as the race official while our industry partners set their own pace to deliver capability. Our goal is to increase speed of delivery to the warfighter while capitalizing on industry’s ability to innovate.

Our MGUE team of government and industry partners (Rockwell Collins, Raytheon, and L3) successfully completed major system design reviews demonstrating a readiness to define the process of security and compatibility certification. Additionally, the team participated in the GYPSY Juliett multi-service, multi-nation PNT demonstration hosted by the U.S. Strategic Command this past summer. While we battled the elements through two hurricanes, the team successfully demonstrated the capability of M-Code receiver cards in an operational demonstration. Our goal is to enable full operational testing with four lead platforms in summer 2016.

While many risks and challenges to GPS modernization still lie ahead of us, the persistent effort by the GPS team has produced important progress in 2014 across the space, ground, and user equipment segments.

A civilian GPS user recently thanked me for providing the incredibly useful utility free to everyone around the globe. Although my impulsive response was to say simply, “You’re welcome,” I’d like to provide a more thoughtful and thorough reply that recognizes those responsible for GPS.

There are two key groups to thank for GPS: the first is the men and women across the United States government and industry who develop, field, and operate the GPS Enterprise. Among this group are satellite factory technicians, software engineers improving the ground segment, receiver designers, program office engineers, and satellite operators continuously monitoring the constellation, updating each GPS satellite’s clock correction and ephemeris data 24/7. This team works with an unwavering passion for this mission that inspires me every day.

The second group responsible for GPS is the American taxpayer who, through Congress, funds the GPS Enterprise every year. The U.S. financial commitment to GPS is not just for U.S. security or the well documented positive impact GPS has on the American economy, but for the benefit of the entire world as a global utility. GPS is the gold standard for PNT because American taxpayers continuously provide fiscal support so the GPS Enterprise’s men and women can design, produce, field, and maintain the global utility that we all have come to depend on.

Thank you for supporting this enterprise, and know that the GPS team works hard to ensure those resources are spent wisely to provide continuously improving, predictable, and dependable performance from the Global Positioning System.

Colonel William T. Cooley is director, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.

December 1, 2014
Latest Words from the Acquisition Guru of the World’s Gold Standard for PNT
Col. William Cooley, Director, U.S.A.F. Global Positioning Systems Directorate.

Colonel William “Wild Bill” Cooley, director of the GPS Directorate at Space and Missile Systems Center, discusses CNAV signals, GPS IIF launches, and the OCX with Defense Editor Don Jewell.

There is probably no busier United States Air Force officer than Colonel William “Wild Bill” Cooley, Ph.D., the director of the GPS Directorate at Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Los Angeles AFB, California. He is the driving force for all things dealing with acquisition and development for GPS. Currently, he is juggling so many objects, it is amazing that he is not totally overwhelmed. Consider the issues with the Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX), GPS IIF, GPS III, and military government user equipment (MGUE), plus a plethora of classified endeavors we can’t even discuss here. He is one busy man, but even with all that, he found time to sit down and answer a few questions in an effort to bring us all up to speed on GPS and PNT.

Don Jewell (DJ): One of the hot topics at all the symposia lately, here and abroad, has been the broadcasting of additional civilian navigation signals and messages. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) originally objected and sent a strongly worded and probably unadvisable letter to General Shelton (AFSPC/CC) on the matter, but sanity prevailed, and the GPS navigation signals on L2C- and L5C-capable satellites began broadcasting with full navigation messages on April 28. However, we understand DOT still insists some restrictions be put in place for the L5C signal. Can you provide us with an update and a status on that program? Plus, what can users expect in the way of improved accuracy and signal availability?

Colonel “Wild Bill” William Cooley (WBC): As of April 28, the civil navigation message (CNAV) broadcast was implemented on all operational GPS satellites capable of transmitting the L2C and L5 signals. Currently, seven GPS IIR-M satellites broadcast L2C, and six GPS IIF satellites broadcast L2C and L5. On average, users may expect at least one L2C-broadcasting satellite to be in view at all times.

The CNAV message content now includes the minimum message set needed to support the positioning, navigation, and timing mission, namely Broadcast Message Types (MT) 10, 11, 30, and 33, which contain information about the satellites’ position, clock, health, and corrections, in lieu of the previously transmitted MT-0 placeholder or default message.

The Air Force intends to broadcast L2C messages with the health bit set healthy and L5 messages with the health bits set unhealthy until sufficient monitoring capabilities are available for the L5 signal. We expect the accuracy to be slightly less than the Legacy Navigation Message (LNAV) because we are only updating the satellites two times each week. The accuracy should improve to be slightly better than LNAV beginning this December, when we begin updating the CNAV message on each satellite daily.

DJ: The M-code (military code) and MNAV (military navigation) signals are also being broadcast on M-code-capable satellites. So, the same questions apply: what can our warfighters and government users expect as far as M-code availability and accuracy? What can you say about the multiple messaging capabilities both on the civilian and military (CNAV and MNAV) signals?

WBC: Like the civil CNAV message, the modernized military-data message MNAV will enable military users to take advantage of all of the performance improvements offered by a modernized military signal. We can expect continued accuracy improvements as newer satellites replace aging satellites.
MNAV broadcast testing will continue occasionally in support of developmental test events for the next-generation military GPS receiver cards.

DJ: I know we can get in sensitive territory here in a hurry, but since we are discussing the military signals, can you give us an update on the long-running MGUE and M-code program? When can government users expect to see an actual signal and a receiver with M-code chips and/or modules that utilize the military only signals? Plus — and here’s where we have to be careful — what can you say about the security, availability, and accuracy of the military signal?

WBC: The M-code-capable military receiver (MGUE) modules in development have successfully acquired and tracked M-code during live-sky tests, and we have many more tests scheduled. MGUE is expected to begin fielding by 2017, at which point at least 18 M-code-capable GPS satellites are expected to be on orbit, providing global four-in-view coverage of full M-code capabilities.

In the meantime, the most recent GPS IIF satellite launches have raised the total number of M-code-capable modernized GPS spacecraft to 14 (seven GPS IIR-M and seven GPS IIF). This provides four or more M-code satellites in view globally at least 50 percent of the time, and at least one M-code satellite in view continuously. This increasing M-code satellite signal coverage will enable effective, realistic, developmental and operational testing of MGUE receivers.

The new GPS III block of satellites will provide an M-code signal with greater security, and higher power, comparable availability, and accuracy when compared with the GPS IIF satellites, allowing users to operate closer to jammers and under trees, as well as with greater resistance to jamming and spoofing. Also OCX will offer significantly improved crypto protection and cyber security.

DJ: Recently, the U.S. Air Force successfully launched the fifth, sixth, and seventh SVs in the GPS IIF family of satellites in less than seven months. Quite a feat! Congratulations are in order for that milestone. However, in the past, the checkout times averaged approximately 30 days. In fact, speed in initializing the IIF SVs and declaring them operational seemed to be an unofficial goal. On GPS IIF-5, however, the rapid checkout timelines have been extended considerably. Can you enlighten us concerning the checkout program and what the government hopes to achieve?

WBC: There are three key dates with regard to checkout timelines: completion of on-orbit checkout, the transfer of Satellite Control Authority (SCA), and the Operational Acceptance of the vehicle. Measured from launch, the nominal on-orbit checkout timeline is 21 days. The nominal checkout for SCA transfer is 28 days. For the IIF-5 mission, the on-orbit checkout occurred in six days and the SCA in 11 days, a record for the IIF program!

The operational acceptance was completed 60 days later, following an on-orbit observation validating a requirement to see if the vehicle works as expected without receiving any commands from the ground segment in that time period.

This may explain the perceived extended checkout, which is in reality a delayed operational acceptance.
The average time to SCA transfer for the first four vehicles is 42 days. The average is inflated due to a long checkout of the first GPS IIF space vehicle, which took 88 days. From IIF-2 to the present, the average SCA transfer time has been 21 days.

Using SCA transfer time makes the most sense, because that is the time it took the SPO to go through the entire process (to include meetings and documentation) to hand over the vehicle.

DJ: Can you give us a status update on the entire GPS IIF family of satellites? How are the SVs faring in orbit, and are the clocks proving to be as stable and accurate as forecast?

WBC: The first seven of 12 GPS IIF satellites are currently on-orbit and meeting all mission requirements. Of the remaining satellites, one is being prepared for launch in October 2014, one is being prepared for shipment to Cape Canaveral AFS, two are in storage, and one is completing production. The oldest satellite is now four years old. The legacy GPS satellites have remained operational well past their design lives, demonstrating the high-quality engineering and mission-assurance practices used on this program. The clocks are improving the overall accuracy of the constellation with the best-ever day (measured in Signal-in-Space User Range Error) in June 2013 of 46.6 centimeters and the best week in April 2014 of 64.6 centimeters.

DJ: What exactly do the IIFs mean to the GPS modernization program, for the average user and for the GPS constellation and program as a whole?

WBC: The 12 Boeing-built GPS IIF satellites will provide improved signals that will enhance the precise global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services supporting both the warfighter and the growing civilian needs of our global economy. The next-generation satellites will provide improved accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, a longer design life than previous GPS satellites, and a new operational third civil signal (L5) that benefits commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications. It will also continue to deploy the modernized capabilities that began with the modernized GPS IIR satellites, including a more robust military signal.

The anomalies that we have seen on orbit have been resolved either through rework at the factory or through modifications in flight software.

GPS IIF Launch. The seventh of the follow-on generation, rising August 1.

DJ: Bill, that’s comforting, but what about the clocks on the IIF SVs? There were serious problems with the Cesium clocks on the first couple of launches. Are the operators now able to utilize or activate either the Rubidium or the Cesium atomic reference systems?

WBC: Don, the answer is yes. The system has triple redundancy with two Rubidium frequency standard clocks and one Cesium frequency standard.

DJ: What about signal strength and stability on the IIF birds?

WBC: In addition to an increased number of signals, GPS IIF provides more than the legacy power levels, and all signals on GPS IIF meet stability requirements. For reference, the GPS IIR-M series introduced one new L1 and two new L2 signals, while GPS IIF introduced the new L5 signal. All of these signals are part of the GPS IIF navigation payload and provide information including GPS date and time, satellite health, satellite ephemeris (for individual satellite positioning), and almanac information (for information on other satellites in the constellation).

The L1 frequency carries the L1 C/A code for civil users, and the L1 P (Y) code and L1 M-code for military users. The L2 frequency carries the first modernized civil signal, L2C, and the L2 P (Y) code and L2 M-code for military users. Finally, the L5 frequency carries the newest modernized civil signal.

Modernized GPS civil signals provide dual-frequency signals to all GPS users, enabling ionospheric corrections that greatly improve the accuracy. The new L5 signal will be used for safety-of-life applications, including aviation. In addition to an increased number of signals, GPS IIF provides more than the legacy power levels, and all signals on GPS IIF meet stability requirements.

DJ: Let’s move to the ground segment. OCX, the next-generation GPS Command and Control (C2) system, has literally moved to the right on the schedule timeline for every month it has been in existence since it was awarded in 2010. The end date just keeps getting farther and farther away. OCX is also currently exceeding the original contract budget by a large margin.

What’s the problem? Is OCX more difficult or complicated than originally planned? Is there any good news to report to users on OCX? What can users expect in the future?

Just so our readers know, just what is it that OCX brings to the GPS arena that cannot be provided by the current Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) C2 system? Why do we need OCX? And in your opinion is it still a viable option? Are there contingency plans?

My apologies — that is about eight questions in one, but hopefully you can bring us up to speed on OCX.

WBC: Actually, the primary drivers of schedule delays for OCX are related to:
- issues with the integration and testing of Block 0 on the cyber-hardened infrastructure; and
- the concurrent systems engineering approach for Block 1 and Block 2, which drove a high rate of rework and inefficient staffing.
The OCX program is a pathfinder for many of the U.S. Air Force’s and Department of Defense’s most rigorous Information Assurance (IA) and Cyber Security requirements, which have turned out to be more complex to implement than anticipated.

OCX is a challenged program, but there is progress to report. Raytheon completed a hardware compatibility and integration test with the non-flight test bed of the Lockheed Martin GPS III space vehicle. This test validated the network infrastructure’s ability to communicate between the Lockheed Martin Launch and Checkout Capability and the Raytheon Launch and Checkout System, sending commands to the full-sized, functional satellite prototype test bed.

In addition, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin completed the third of five planned launch and early orbit exercises to demonstrate launch readiness. This exercise used new installments of the Raytheon OCX software and network infrastructure to demonstrate space-ground communications for initial acquisition, orbit-raising maneuver planning and execution, and basic anomaly detection and resolution.

Another recent accomplishment was the merging of the Cyber Security hardware and software baseline with the Block 0, Launch and Checkout System, mission applications. The completion of this merge allowed the program to enter formal integration and test activities, which are ongoing.

The full capabilities of OCX provide more than a dozen new capabilities for the GPS mission. OCX enables the full capabilities of the modernized navigation signals: adding L2C and L5 for civil users, M-code secure signal for military users, an internationally compatible L1C, as well as worldwide monitoring of these modern signals for quality and integrity.

OCX enables operation of the new GPS III satellites. As we discussed previously, OCX will provide the USAF’s most rigorous cyber-security capabilities, built in from the OCX foundation.

Raytheon just completed implementation of a program re-plan, which implemented lessons learned to date to correct many of the development challenges encountered, and created a lower risk schedule for delivery. With these changes, the program remains a viable and important component of the modernized GPS enterprise.

DJ: With that in mind, when do you currently plan on having the first GPS III OCX-controlled launch? Original schedules called for a late 2014 date, then it was 2015, and now we are hearing 2016 or as late as 2018 for OCX. Are there viable alternatives, and if so, can you tell us what they are and if they are being pursued?

WBC: OCX and GPS III are synchronized to support launch of the first vehicle in the second half of 2016, conditioned upon launch manifest availability. Contingency plans are being developed, but will only be implemented if warranted by the risk.

DJ: Now, Bill, I am not asking you to blow your own horn here, but frankly we have heard nothing but good reports from SMC and the GPS Directorate since you arrived about 14 months ago. That is a short period of time, but evidently you have made your presence felt and have had a major impact on the GPS program overall. What have you done differently that seems to work so well? To what do you ascribe your success so far?

WBC: Thank you, Don. I’m very happy to hear the reports are positive, but the credit goes to the men and women of the GPS Directorate, our federally funded Research and Development Center personnel, and our contractors. My job is to continually assess the challenges and barriers that slow modernization. I help resolve the challenges or get additional resources if needed to enable the team to accomplish their important mission.

I am incredibly fortunate in that the GPS team is passionate about our mission to maintain the Gold Standard for position, navigation, and timing (PNT) for the world. The entire directorate understands the critical role we play for civilian and military users worldwide, and that knowledge motivates and energizes us every day!

I’m the luckiest colonel in the Air Force because I get to work alongside this terrific team of government and contractor professionals on one of the most important missions in the U.S. Air Force.

DJ: Obviously you are proud of your team, and you know what it means to be a great leader. In closing, do you have any final comments?

WBC: Don, just that the GPS Directorate and our contractor team, along with our partners at the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS) who fly the GPS constellation 24/7, take our job seriously and understand the important mission we have: to provide reliable and precise position, navigation, and timing services for America’s warfighters, our allies, and civilian users around the globe. GPS is the Gold Standard for space-based PNT today, and we are modernizing to ensure GPS is the Gold Standard for the future.
September 1, 2014
RT Logic Wins New Contract Award for GPS OCX Ground System

RT Logic has been awarded a $1 million follow-on contract to provide ground system components for the USAF GPS OCX program, bringing RT Logic’s total OCX contract awards to over $4 million. RT Logic is a subsidiary of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.

OCX is the next generation GPS ground system designed to bring flexibility, adaptability, and modularity to the position, navigation, and timing (PNT) mission. RT Logic is the primary equipment supplier for the Command and Control (C2) portion of OCX, providing software front-end processor units and Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) gateways.

RT Logic supports Raytheon, the prime contractor for GPS OCX, with RT Logic’s net-centric software products for C2 of the GPS III satellites using next generation IP cryptosystems. The IP cryptosystems use industry-standard IP interfaces, eliminating the need for custom serial interfaces, which is intended to ease integration challenges, improve reliability, lower transition risk, and reduce cost.

RT Logic’s software-based products will enable Raytheon to add new features to meet evolving requirements as needed, the company said. In addition, RT Logic will build a high-fidelity lab environment that simulates the GPS mission string. This lab system will allow Raytheon to cost-effectively resolve issues, integrate and simulate new functionality, and maintain the system without impacting the operational mission or Raytheon’s regression testing schedules, the company said.

August 11, 2014
Exelis Reaches GPS OCX Milestones for Navigation and Encryption Software

Exelis has successfully completed several software upgrades for the new Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System, or GPS OCX. Integration and testing were recently conducted on iteration 1.5 of the OCX navigation, encryption and Mission Upload Generator, or MUG, software.

The new version of GPS software will help ground controllers better understand the satellites’ exact positioning in space. The encryption software is also designed to automatically code and decode GPS signals, facilitating the exchange of user information by securely transmitting navigation payload data between the OCX ground system and the orbiting constellation of satellites.

The MUG software is responsible for creating spacecraft payload updates to refresh the navigation data transmitted to all GPS users. This data is typically generated for each satellite multiple times a day and helps to consistently minimize user error.

“These software milestones demonstrate a clear path to improved GPS accuracy and integrity,” said Drew Trainor, OCX program manager for Exelis Geospatial Systems. “Civilian and military users will have more accurate and secure GPS signals, and these milestones bring us one step closer to GPS modernization.”

Under a February 2010 contract award from Raytheon, Exelis is providing software that will simulate the behavior of GPS signals in space. In addition, Exelis is building high-precision receivers for use in ground monitoring stations placed strategically around the world. Exelis is also providing data encryptors that help ensure secure information exchange between the ground and space segments of the system.

Once the new operational control segment is implemented, GPS will improve a variety of business and economic practices, including air traffic control, crop management, and environmental monitoring, among others. The new capabilities offered by GPS modernization will also provide military users increased accuracy, availability, anti-jam power and international interoperability.

January 31, 2014
Raytheon Granted $8.5M Change Order for OCX M-Code Implementation

Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems has been awarded a change order for work that costs up to $8.5 million on its existing contract to ensure that the new military signal, M-code, works with the GPS Operational Control System, according to an announcement from the Pentagon as reported by Space News.

Raytheon is building the ground station (OCX) for a new generation of satellites that will bring more safety and precision to GPS. The contract modification is to assure implementation of M-code capabilities across OCX Block 1 and 2. M-code is the new highly secure, anti-jam signal designed for the GPS III constellation. The current GPS ground control system lacks M-code capability.

The OCX is designed to work with the advanced GPS III positioning, navigation and timing satellites, slated to start launching in 2015, and also will be backwardly compatible with existing GPS satellites.

Raytheon won the $886.4 million prime contract to develop the OCX in February 2010. Work will be performed at Raytheon’s facility in Aurora, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by August 31, 2016.

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Contracting Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting agency.

Details on the contract change order: Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems, Aurora, Colo., has been awarded an unpriced change order (P00112) with a not-to-exceed of $8,595,748 on an existing contract (FA8807-10-C-0001) for M-Code Implementation on the Operational Control System. The contract modification is to assure implementation of M-Code Capabilities across OCX Block 1 and 2. Work will be performed at Aurora, Colo., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2016. Fiscal 2014 research and development funds will be obligated at definitization. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Contracting Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity.

December 30, 2013
The System: Ground Control Readied for GPS III

Raytheon Company reached several milestones recently in its development of the GPS Next -Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX). Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Non-flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) — a full-sized, functional satellite prototype currently residing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station — successfully established remote connectivity and communicated with OCX during pre-flight tests.

GNST proved that it could connect with and receive commands from Raytheon’s Launch and Check Out System (LCS), a part of OCX that supports the satellite and mitigates risks prior to launch. The GNST received commands from Lockheed Martin’s Launch and Checkout Capability (LCC) node in Newtown, Pennsylvania via the OCX servers at Raytheon’s facility in Aurora, Colorado; the system then returned satellite telemetry to the control station. The tests mirror launch and early orbit testing planned for all flight vehicles.

“While we have connected OCX with ground-based simulators before, these tests were the first time that OCX and a GPS III satellite have actually communicated,” said Keoki Jackson, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area.

Ahead of Schedule. Raytheon received Interim Authorization to Test (IATT) security certification from the U.S. Air Force for OCX LCS four months ahead of schedule. The company received a one-year certification with no liens, meaning the government does not require any changes.

“Typically, IATT certification is given for six-month increments,” said Matthew Gilligan, Raytheon’s GPS OCX program manager and a vice president in Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information, and Services business. “The LCS one-year accreditation speaks to the quality of the information assurance design and threat protection.” The IATT not only includes the LCS, but also Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite support systems, Exercise and Rehearsal Training Tool, and Upload Generation Tool.

OCX is being developed in two blocks. There are seven iterations in Block 1 and one in Block 2. LCS is the fifth Iteration of Block 1; it successfully completed Critical Design Review in June 2013.

Early Orbit Exercises. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon also completed the third of five planned launch and early orbit exercises to demonstrate launch readiness of GPS III and OCX.

Exercise 3 demonstrated space-ground communications; first acquisition and transfer orbit sequences; orbit-raising maneuver planning and execution; and basic anomaly detection and resolution capabilities. In addition, the industry and Air Force GPS Directorate teams jointly executed mission planning activities, such as orbit determination and the generation of upload command files.

Two additional readiness exercises and six 24/7 launch rehearsals are planned before launch of the first GPS III satellite. The first flight GPS III space vehicle (SV-01) is expected to be available for launch in 2014, and launched by the U.S. Air Force in 2015.

Exelis Encryptors. Exelis delivered the first three of a planned 14 ground-based encryptors to Raytheon Company for OCX. Designed to automatically code and decode GPS signals, encryptors facilitate the exchange of user information by securely transmitting navigation payload data between the OCX ground station and the orbiting constellation of satellites.

Delivery followed successful thermal, electromagnetic interference and security verification testing. Exelis provides critical elements of software in the navigation processing subsystem that will enable controllers to better understand the exact position of GPS satellites. This helps ensure accurate navigation information is securely broadcast to users. In addition to encryptors, Exelis is building high-precision receivers for use in GPS ground monitoring stations and satellite signal simulators for testing purposes.

Exelis is also on contract with Lockheed Martin to provide the payloads for the GPS III satellites.

Europe Tests Galileo Public Regulated Service

European Union member states began their independent testing of the Public Regulated Service (PRS) broadcast by the four Galileo navigation satellites in orbit. Transmitted on two frequency bands with enhanced protection, PRS offers a highly accurate positioning and timing service, with access strictly restricted to authorized users, such as government defense, security, and emergency services.

PRS access was initially considered for Galileo’s Full Operational Capability phase, but it has been enabled in 2013 in response to the strong interest of member states in this service. To allow early access to PRS during the current phase, the European Commission and ESA began the joint project PRS Participants To IOV (PPTI) in July 2012.

ESA ensured the availability of several tools developed under ESA contracts, including test receivers and other qualification equipment. ESA’s PRS Laboratory, based at the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, provided training, demonstrations and sample data.

“Belgium, France, Italy, and the UK have now performed independent PRS acquisition and positioning tests. In parallel, ESA, through collaboration with Dutch and Italian authorities, is conducting PRS fixed and mobile validation in several locations in the Netherlands and Italy,” said Miguel Manteiga Bautista, head of ESA’s Galileo Security Office.

The PRS tests have demonstrated a current autonomous positioning accuracy of less than 10 meters when in the correct geometrical configuration. This is an impressive result considering the small number of Galileo satellites in orbit and the limited ground infrastructure so far deployed.

Italy has developed its own PRS receiver, and tests have confirmed the feasibility of independent PRS receiver development and verification based on specifications provided by ESA.

“The PPTI project is still ongoing to test more advanced functionalities this coming autumn and to run the first aeronautical PRS tests in collaboration with the Dutch authorities. Other member states have also expressed their willingness to join the IOV PRS experimentation campaigns soon,“ concluded Miguel Manteiga.

The project is a first step to ensure use of the PRS as soon as it becomes operational. It will be complemented by PRS pilot projects, focused on PRS applications, which are currently under definition in a common effort between European agencies.

The United States has submitted a request to be able to use Galileo’s PRS. Other non-EU countries have also expressed a desire to be associated with the program.

System Briefs

Way to Go GAO, Part II. The Air Force should come up with better cost estimates and options for new GPS satellites, according to a September 9 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO was responding to an Air Force study on lower-cost space solutions for GPS.

“More information on key cost drivers and cost estimates, and broader input from stakeholders would help guide future investment decisions,” the GAO concluded. Specifically, the key cost drivers include dual-launch capability, navigation satellites (smaller GPS-type satellites yet to be developed), and a nuclear detection capability.”

New Birds by Fall. Galileo satellite-builder OHB AG said it should know by late September whether tests of the first Full Operational Capability (FOC) Galileo satellites are proceeding well enough to permit their delivery later this year. The first FOC satellite began testing at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre in May, and the second arrived August 9.

The OHB satellites either “bear a strong resemblance” or “are identical” to the four in-orbit validation spacecraft now in medium-Earth orbit, depending on the source. However, the on-board power of the OHB spacecraft exceeds that of the validation satellites built by a different manufacturer. According to one source, Galileo managers made the modification in part to enable Galileo’s encrypted Public Regulated Service signal to overcome a signal frequency overlap issue with China’s BeiDou constellation.

October 1, 2013
Ground Control Readied for GPS III

Raytheon Company reached several milestones recently in its development of the GPS Next -Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX). Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Non-flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) — a full-sized, functional satellite prototype currently residing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station — successfully established remote connectivity and communicated with OCX during pre-flight tests.

GNST proved that it could connect with and receive commands from Raytheon’s Launch and Check Out System (LCS), a part of OCX that supports the satellite and mitigates risks prior to launch. The GNST received commands from Lockheed Martin’s Launch and Checkout Capability (LCC) node in Newtown, Pennsylvania via the OCX servers at Raytheon’s facility in Aurora, Colorado; the system then returned satellite telemetry to the control station. The tests mirror launch and early orbit testing planned for all flight vehicles.

“While we have connected OCX with ground-based simulators before, these tests were the first time that OCX and a GPS III satellite have actually communicated,” said Keoki Jackson, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area.

Ahead of Schedule. Raytheon received Interim Authorization to Test (IATT) security certification from the U.S. Air Force for OCX LCS four months ahead of schedule. The company received a one-year certification with no liens, meaning the government does not require any changes.

“Typically, IATT certification is given for six-month increments,” said Matthew Gilligan, Raytheon’s GPS OCX program manager and a vice president in Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information, and Services business. “The LCS one-year accreditation speaks to the quality of the information assurance design and threat protection.” The IATT not only includes the LCS, but also Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite support systems, Exercise and Rehearsal Training Tool, and Upload Generation Tool.

OCX is being developed in two blocks. There are seven iterations in Block 1 and one in Block 2. LCS is the fifth Iteration of Block 1; it successfully completed Critical Design Review in June 2013.

Early Orbit Exercises. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon also completed the third of five planned launch and early orbit exercises to demonstrate launch readiness of GPS III and OCX.

Exercise 3 demonstrated space-ground communications; first acquisition and transfer orbit sequences; orbit-raising maneuver planning and execution; and basic anomaly detection and resolution capabilities. In addition, the industry and Air Force GPS Directorate teams jointly executed mission planning activities, such as orbit determination and the generation of upload command files.

Two additional readiness exercises and six 24/7 launch rehearsals are planned before launch of the first GPS III satellite. The first flight GPS III space vehicle (SV-01) is expected to be available for launch in 2014, and launched by the U.S. Air Force in 2015.

Exelis Encryptors. Exelis delivered the first three of a planned 14 ground-based encryptors to Raytheon Company for OCX. Designed to automatically code and decode GPS signals, encryptors facilitate the exchange of user information by securely transmitting navigation payload data between the OCX ground station and the orbiting constellation of satellites.

Delivery followed successful thermal, electromagnetic interference and security verification testing. Exelis provides critical elements of software in the navigation processing subsystem that will enable controllers to better understand the exact position of GPS satellites. This helps ensure accurate navigation information is securely broadcast to users. In addition to encryptors, Exelis is building high-precision receivers for use in GPS ground monitoring stations and satellite signal simulators for testing purposes.

Exelis is also on contract with Lockheed Martin to provide the payloads for the GPS III satellites.

September 30, 2013
GPS III Prototype Successfully Integrated with OCX Ground Control Segment

During the August test, the GPS III Non-flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) proved that it could connect with and receive commands from the Launch and Check Out System.

The prototype for Lockheed Martin ‘s next generation GPS III satellite reached a major milestone on August 30 when it successfully established remote connectivity and communicated with the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), being developed by Raytheon, during a series of pre-flight tests.

During the Compatibility and Integration (C&I) Tests, Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Non-flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) — a full-sized, functional satellite prototype currently residing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station — proved that it could connect with and receive commands from Raytheon’s Launch and Check Out System (LCS), part of the next-generation OCX that supports the satellite and mitigates risks prior to launch.

The GNST received commands from the LCC node at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Newtown, Pennsylvania, via the OCX servers at Raytheon’s facility in Aurora, CO, the system then returned satellite telemetry to the control station. The tests mirror launch and early orbit testing planned for all flight vehicles.

“The GNST is essentially a non-flying, functional GPS III satellite. While we have connected OCX with ground-based simulators before, these C&I tests were the first time that OCX and a GPS III satellite have actually communicated,” explained Keoki Jackson, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area.

Matthew Gilligan, a vice president with Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business and Raytheon’s GPS OCX program manager, stated, “This was an invaluable early opportunity to demonstrate command and control of the GPS III satellite with LCS, proving the end-to-end system capabilities well before putting an actual GPS III in orbit. The positive results tell us that we are right on track for the first GPS III launch.”

The LCS works hand-in-hand with Lockheed Martin’s Launch and Checkout Capability (LCC) contract, which brings online some of OCX’s GPS III-specific capabilities early to provide on-orbit checkout and control of the satellites.

The GNST has been at the Cape since July dry-running launch base space vehicle processing activities and pre-launch testing that all future flight GPS III satellites will undergo. The first flight GPS III space vehicle (SV-01) is expected to be available for launch in 2014, and launched by the U.S. Air Force in 2015.

Prior to shipment to the Cape, the GNST was developed and then completed a series of high-fidelity activities to reduce program risks, improve efficiencies and pathfind the integration, test and environmental checkout that all production GPS III satellites undergo at Lockheed Martin’s new GPS III Processing Facility in Denver, Colo.

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 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 Lockheed Martin-developed GPS III satellites and Raytheon’s OCX are critical elements of the U.S. Air Force’s effort to modernize the GPS enterprise more affordably while improving capabilities to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users worldwide.

GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy; provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities; and include enhancements which extend spacecraft life 25 percent further than the prior GPS block. The GPS III also will carry a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, enhancing civilian user connectivity. The spacecraft bus and antenna assemblies for the first GPS III satellite have been delivered to Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility and are in the integration and test flow leading to the planned space vehicle delivery in 2014.

Lockheed Martin is currently under contract for production of 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).

OCX will revolutionize GPS command and control and mission management capabilities, controlling all legacy and new military and civil signals, providing protection against evolving cyber threats and ensuring continuity of operations during cyber attacks, and reducing operation and sustainment costs through efficient software architecture, automation and performance-based logistics. OCX represents a quantum leap in capabilities over the current Operational Control System and provides flexibility and adaptability to meet future GPS mission needs. Raytheon is the OCX prime contractor and is on track to deliver the final Launch and Checkout System in 2014.

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 ITT Exelis, General Dynamics, Infinity Systems Engineering, Honeywell, ATK and other subcontractors. Raytheon is the GPS OCX prime contractor with teammates ITT Exelis, Boeing, Braxton, Infinity Systems Engineering, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Air Force Space Command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.

September 25, 2013
Exelis Completes Critical Data Security Work on GPS OCX System

Exelis has delivered three ground-based encryptors to Raytheon Company for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation Global Positioning System Operational Control System, or GPS OCX.

Designed to automatically code and decode GPS signals, encryptors facilitate the exchange of user information by securely transmitting navigation payload data between the OCX ground station and the orbiting constellation of satellites.

“Following successful thermal, electromagnetic interference and security verification testing, Exelis delivered the first three of 14 encryptors,” said Kevin Farrell, positioning, navigation and timing general manager for Exelis Geospatial Systems. “Once integrated into the OCX system, the encryptors will help ensure that the next generation of GPS satellites will be ready for launch and provide advanced capabilities and security to both military and civilian users of the signal and the overall GPS modernization effort.”

Exelis provides critical elements of software in the navigation processing subsystem that will enable controllers to better understand the exact position of GPS satellites. This helps ensure accurate navigation information is securely broadcast to users. In addition to encryptors, Exelis is building high-precision receivers for use in GPS ground monitoring stations and satellite signal simulators for testing purposes.

As part of the overall GPS modernization effort, Exelis is also on contract with Lockheed Martin to provide payloads for GPS III satellites. Exelis is a major space technology provider, supporting both the satellite and ground portions of the GPS III modernization program.

For nearly 40 years, Exelis payloads and payload components have been on board every GPS satellite and have accumulated more than 500 years of on-orbit life without a single mission-related failure due to Exelis equipment.

September 16, 2013
GPS III and OCX Satellite Launch, Early Orbit Ops Successfully Demonstrated

Artist’s concept of the nextgen GPS III satellite (courtesy of the USAF).

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Company successfully completed the third of five planned launch and early orbit exercises to demonstrate the launch readiness of the world’s most powerful and accurate Global Positioning System (GPS), the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS III satellite and Operational Control System (OCX).

Successful completion of Exercise 3, on August 1, was a key milestone demonstrating Raytheon’s OCX software meets mission requirements and is on track to support the launch of the first GPS III satellite, being produced by Lockheed Martin. Two additional readiness exercises and six 24/7 launch rehearsals are planned before launch of the first GPS III satellite in 2015.

Using new installments of Raytheon’s OCX software and Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Launch and Checkout Capability (LCC), the Air Force Global Positioning System Directorate and the industry team completed a launch and early orbit exercise over a three-day period in late July. Exercise 3 demonstrated space-ground communications; first acquisition and transfer orbit sequences; orbit-raising maneuver planning and execution; and basic anomaly detection and resolution capabilities. In addition, the industry and customer teams jointly executed mission planning activities, such as orbit determination and the generation of upload command files.

Exercise 3 expands on two previous exercises, with a longer mission timeline, and the introduction of simulated vehicle and ground anomalies to evaluate the combined response capabilities of the control segment, satellite and operations crew. “Successful completion of Exercise 3 clearly demonstrates that OCX is on track to support the first GPS III satellite launch,” stated Matt Gilligan, a vice president with Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business and Raytheon’s GPS OCX program manager. “The system responded as designed, and met all of the launch exercise success criteria and successfully demonstrated our anomaly response.”

“Exercise 3 demonstrated that the cross-organizational operations team is on track to support successful GPS III launch and on-orbit checkout missions from our Newtown facility,” said Keoki Jackson, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area. “I look forward to the team’s continued success as they progress through the complex mission readiness program towards the first GPS III launch.”

The Lockheed Martin-developed GPS III satellites and Raytheon‘s OCX are critical elements of the U.S. Air Force’s effort to modernize the GPS enterprise more affordably while improving capabilities to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users worldwide.

GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy; provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities; and include enhancements which extend spacecraft life 25 percent further than the prior GPS block. The GPS III also will carry a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, enhancing civilian user connectivity. The spacecraft bus and antenna assemblies for the first GPS III satellite have been delivered to Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility and are in the integration and test flow leading to the planned space vehicle delivery in mid-2014.

OCX is being developed in two Blocks using a commercial best practice iterative software development process, with seven iterations in Block 1 and one iteration in Block 2. Exercise 3 was conducted using the recently completed Iteration 1.4 software. Exercise 4, scheduled for early 2014, will use Iteration 1.5 software, which includes the Launch and Checkout System capability as well as all critical information assurance features needed to support launch of the first GPS III satellite.

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.

September 13, 2013
Raytheon GPS Launch and Checkout Capability Cleared for Test

Raytheon Company has received Interim Authorization to Test (IATT) security certification for the Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) Launch and Checkout System (LCS) four months ahead of schedule.

Raytheon received a one-year certification with no liens, meaning the government does not require any changes. The LCS IATT certification enables Raytheon to move to the next stage of testing the Launch and Checkout System in preparation for launch of the first GPS III satellite.

“Successful IATT certification ahead of our original schedule demonstrates not only that Raytheon meets the U.S. Air Force’s high standards for information assurance as we develop this critical national system, but also the efficient efforts of our government partners,” said Matthew Gilligan, Raytheon’s GPS OCX program manager and a vice president in Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business. “Typically IATT certification is given for six-month increments; the LCS one-year accreditation speaks to the quality of the information assurance design and threat protection.”

The Interim Authorization to Test not only includes the LCS, but also Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite support systems, including the Exercise and Rehearsal Training Tool and Upload Generation Tool.

The next-generation GPS ground-control system, known as OCX.

Raytheon’s OCX and the Lockheed Martin-built GPS III satellites are critical elements of the U.S. Air Force’s effort to modernize the GPS enterprise while improving capabilities to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users worldwide. OCX is being developed in two “blocks” using a commercial best-practice iterative software development process. There are seven iterations in Block 1 and one in Block 2. LCS is the fifth Iteration of Block 1, and it successfully completed Critical Design Review in June 2013.

The first GPS III satellite is in production at Lockheed Martin and expected to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force “flight-ready” in mid-2014. GPS III satellites are expected to deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities, and include enhancements that extend spacecraft life 25 percent further than the prior GPS block. The GPS III also will carry a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, enhancing civilian user connectivity.

September 4, 2013
GPS OCX Ground Control in GAO Report

A March 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) seems to claim that the projected cost of the next-generation GPS ground-control system, known as OCX, increased by 43 percent, or $1 billion over the past year, to a total cost estimate of $3.7 billion. As GPS World contributing editor Don Jewell wrote shortly after the GAO release, “In fact, the report does not actually say that exactly, but you have to dig deep to determine that. Most readers won’t take the time to do that and will assume that the OCX program is grossly over budget. It is not.” A Raytheon spokesperson pointed out that the basis for the program cost estimate goes far beyond the scope of the original 2010 Raytheon prime contract of $886.4 million, and that the current value of the company’s contract is $969 million.

Design requirements for OCX call for it to support the GPS III constellation’s stringent accuracy, anti-jam, and information assurance requirements. The system is also to be backward-compatible with current GPS satellites. The original contracted carried an initial delivery date of 2016. At least some of the government-specified revisions in the contract come in the context of the need for absolute information assurance, given the Internet- and associated computer program-hacking by foreign sources, considered alongside the vast user base supplied by GPS, including the U.S. military’s reliance on its capability for many functions.

Kevin Ramundo, Vice President for Communications, Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, commented:

“GPS modernization through the launch of GPS III satellites and the GPS OCX ground system will provide new mission-critical capabilities to war fighters and additional capacity to meet the needs of millions of additional GPS users each year.

“Since the initial contract award, Raytheon’s GPS OCX program has made considerable progress including Milestone B approval and the successful completion of two ground station/satellite integration exercises. Nearly 50 percent of the software development is complete.

“With regard to the GAO report, it is important to note that the basis for their program cost estimate goes far beyond the scope of the Raytheon contract. In 2010, the contract award to Raytheon for GPS OCX was $886 million. The current value of our contract is $969 million, which now includes additional scope such as launch and check-out capability, tech baseline, and special studies.”

In December 2012, Col. Bernie Gruber of the U.S. Air Force GPS Directorate wrote in the pages of GPS World what was the commonly accepted perception of and public government position on OCX:

“Along with a host of additional satellite capabilities and signals, we will correspondingly modernize our ground segment. Our Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX) is designed to command and control our modernized secondary civil signal L2C, safety-of-life signal L5, and the internationally compatible signal L1C. . . . . . As the modernized signals become operational, users will see faster signal acquisition, enhanced reliability, and a greater operating range. The information assurance, expandability, and service-oriented architecture will afford users and operators with security and information they simply don’t have today.”

The View from 2013. The 190-page GAO report, “Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs,” states that the scope and complexity of key OCX program elements was underestimated, and alluded to overruns that have historically beset Pentagon space programs.

Two of the 190 pages in the report (click here for highlights and to download the full PDF)

specifically address OCX, which is identified as one of 19 weapons “Programs That Entered Development with Technologies Fully Mature or Nearing Maturity” and one of 14 “Programs with technologies nearing maturity at knowledge point 1 date.” OCX is given a knowledge point 1 date of November 2012.

According to the Report, “Air Force officials recently stated that, although GPS III is still maintaining an April 2014 “available for launch” date for the first satellite, the planned launch date is being moved to May 2015 in order to synchronize it with the availability of the GPS Operational Control Segment (OCX) Block 0, without which the satellites cannot be launched and checked out.”

“The program has experienced significant requirements instability and schedule delays while in technology development,” the report reads. “The contractor initially underestimated the scope and complexity of the necessary information assurance requirements which required additional personnel with the necessary expertise and increased government management.”

Changes in Specifications. In June 2012, a Raytheon executive stated that the OCX contract had been significantly modified, with the addition of a launch and checkout capability that had previously been the responsibility of Boeing, prime contractor on the GPS IIF satellites.

He also identified information assurance, a primary OCX requirement, as “a big challenge. It is very important that we protect this system against the current and evolving cyber threats because they are real and the nation can’t afford to have this system compromised.”

An Update Last Autumn. In a November 2012 conversation with GPS World defense editor Don Jewell, Raytheon VP and Program Manager for OCX Ray Kolibaba made the following remarks:

“We currently have 450 people at Raytheon working OCX, and with our subs, an additional 300 personnel. Altogether we have 750 personnel working GPS and OCX issues. This does not include the military and civilian personnel at Air Force Space Command and Space and Missile Systems Center.”

[ . . . . ]

Headshot: Ray Kolibaba

“Basically we are nearly on cost for the OCX contract. The current contract value is $925M; the original cost estimate was $886M. We are driving forward on that and the Block 1 date or Ready to Operate (RTO) date. Right now, the customer team is working on finalizing a new enterprise schedule that will show the Program Management Directive dates. So, we don’t know the exact date the government envisions. I expect an official date either late this year or early next year. I encourage you to ask Colonel Gruber [U.S. Air Force GPS Directorate] this question, and maybe then we will also get an answer. We have given them our recommendations.

“Concerning sequestration, I am not worried. I believe we have a reasonable level of support from Congress to maintain and continue OCX. That doesn’t mean something won’t change. Our Washington folks tell us that OCX appears to be on solid footing. The Air Force FY13 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation budget request for OCX, to include Raytheon, support contractors, the GPS Directorate, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers and the like, was $371.6M, and the Continuing Resolution amount was $369.4M — given the current budget environment, that is strong Congressional support.”

[ . . . . . ]

“Successful completion of OCX will make a huge difference on a number of fronts. For instance, even though the FAA and DOT don’t have a whole lot of funding to ante up, we are going to make a difference in how they operate in the future. Some actions are transparent, but not all, as we implement their requirements and as we move forward with OCX.

“The sooner we implement the true capabilities of GPS on airliners and stop adhering only to the fixed air routes, the sooner we will start saving time and money with a vastly more efficient and flexible air routing system.

“So, from the civil side, there is certainly a difference, and when we bring other signals in they will be key for us, such as L2C, L5, and L1C. We have the solutions to do that with our receivers at this point in time, and I think it is fairly low-risk. Indeed that is probably another of my unofficial milestones.

“[On] the navigation side, GPS accuracy will noticeably improve, and we will use a new Kalman Filter. We are working the new Kalman filter with ITT Exelis and JPL to enhance capabilities. Couple that with better information assurance, increased integrity and predictability, along with system safety, and you have many of the key differences in the OCS system going forward.

[ . . . . . . ]

“We are required to support 40 PRNs at a minimum, with growth potential to 63 PRNs, and we may be able to support more. I’m not sure there is a limit on the system as such.”

In April of this year, Don Jewell wrote in his Defense PNT e-newsletter column:

“Most readers [of the report] won’t take the time to [dig deep] and will assume that the OCX program is grossly over budget. It is not. In fact, to reach that extraordinary number, OCX cost overruns would need to have grown by 43 percent for each year since it was awarded, and that is ludicrous. According to Raytheon VP and OCX Program Manager Ray Kolibaba, the $3.695 billion number probably comes from including “…programmatic costs beyond OCX development costs and pessimistic projections from the government” that in my experience no acquisition agency, nor Congress for that matter, would ever include when determining true program cost adherence parameters.

Jewell makes the further point that OCX has grown in scope and schedule due in part to government change requests, mainly in the cyber and information assurance areas.

Where It Stands Now. Notwithstanding the optimism of the Raytheon OCX program manager six months ago, it is reasonable to expect that the GAO estimate of increased cost has drawn Congressional attention, and that in the current fiscal climate, the entire program may once again be imperiled.

May 30, 2013