On June 3, Raytheon demonstrated the advanced capabilities of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) to key U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other stakeholders through a series of realistic operational demonstrations.
The demonstrations, which incorporated software that will be delivered with the Launch and Checkout System, validated how automation will improve system efficiency and effectiveness.
GPS OCX is the ground-based command and control system that will manage GPS satellites with significantly improved accuracy and precision, while providing unprecedented levels of cyber protection.
“These successful demonstrations incorporating actual GPS OCX software reflect Raytheon’s significant and continuing progress on this program and the growing maturity of this very complex system,” said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services. “Once delivered, this pathfinding, cyber-hardened ground system will significantly enhance the capabilities GPS brings to military, civil and commercial users worldwide,” said Wajsgras.
The demonstration provided DoD and other stakeholders with a look at how OCX will automate many tasks currently performed manually, resulting in reduced opportunities for error and increased operational tempo for delivering military and other applications, Raytheon said.
Raytheon demonstrated the benefits of OCX in providing new high-power, jam-resistant military signal known as M-code, as well as the system’s unprecedented cyber automation, detection and response capabilities.
Raytheon is installing the Block 0 Launch and Checkout System (LCS) hardware at Schriever Air Force Base. LCS software, which includes the cyber-hardened infrastructure for OCX Block 1, is in the qualification test phase and is on track for delivery in mid-2016.
As I write this, the 31st Space Symposium (SS) will kickoff in just 5 days, on April 13 at the incomparable Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the foothills of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Neil deGrasse Tyson (courtesy of PBS)
If you haven’t figured it out already, the 31st SS is not a WWII German unit designation, but the 31st Space Symposium, which Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, famed astrophysicist, bestselling author, director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of the hugely successful television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, simply calls “the most awesome symposium in the world.” Very high praise indeed, and a sentiment with which I totally agree.
Breaking Records
This year’s Space Symposium, which is sponsored by the Space Foundation, will be the largest ever held in terms of venue, size (number of exhibitors and speakers) and attendance. Approximately 10,000 space enthusiasts are expected to attend, and I hope you are one of them. My sources tell me the classified sessions (Cyber 1.5 and classified space sessions) are filled to overflowing — no new registrations allowed there. The exhibitor space at the Ball Aerospace Exhibit Center and Pavilion is bursting at the seams. The organizers are turning exhibitors away, so better luck next year. But if you just want to attend the greatest space symposium in the world, bar none, there is still time to register.
By the way, if you haven’t figured it out already, this is a truly international event. My sources at the Space Foundation stated that the 31st Space Symposium will have more international participation than ever, including more than 150 exhibits of the world’s latest space technology, products and services. The Ball Aerospace Exhibit Center will host more than 30 first-time exhibitors with more than a dozen countries represented, including: Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the U.S. The symposium is expected to attract space leaders from more than 25 countries, representing all sectors of the global space community.
Everyone who is anyone in the space world will probably be there or be represented. Consequently, the networking capabilities are unparalleled. Not to mention just being able to avail yourself of the world-famous Broadmoor Resort hospitality, plus the crisp, clean and cool mountain air at 6,000 feet.
Event Preparation
For many years, the event was known as the National Space Symposium. It outgrew that moniker many years ago, and is now simply known as the Space Symposium.
Every year before I attend the Space Symposium, I make a “ToDoToDay” list of topics I want to explore, both as a journalist and in my senior space analyst profession. Plus, of course, I make a list of people I definitely want to talk with or interview. This year, I thought I would share some of those to-dos with you, because you may indeed have some of the same interests.
GPS III
Mark Stewart, Lockheed Martin GPS III program manager (courtesy of Lockheed Martin)
Wearing my subject matter expert (SME) hat, so to speak, I recently had the honor of touring the Lockheed Martin (LMCO) Space Systems facility in Waterton Canyon (far West Denver), Colorado, where the GPS III satellites are built, integrated and otherwise readied for launch. I took the opportunity to chat with Mark Stewart and his crew. Mark is vice president for manufacturing and space systems and program manager for GPS III.
I learned that the first GPS III space vehicles (SVs) is much farther along than most everyone thinks. The problematic MDU (Mission Data Unit — the heart of the system) from Exelis has been fully tested and integrated into the payload. GPS III SV1 was only three days from being totally integrated or mated, as they say, with the on-orbit propulsion portion of the payload (the remainder of the LMCO A2100 bus) and beginning its months-long testing, certification and verification process. According to Mark, GPS III SV-01 — which powered on initially in February 2013 — now is in integration and test flow leading up to final delivery to the Air Force.
While it was thrilling to see everything finally coming together, I will also tell you candidly that the next milestone everyone is asking about, the first GPS III launch date, is probably as fluid as the Snake River in Spring. So, while I do not feel comfortable quoting a first launch date, and LMCO would not give me a firm date for delivery of the first GPS III SV, I do feel comfortable making this prediction: Barring any unforeseen major issues during testing, LMCO will be ready to deliver to the U.S. government the first ready-to-launch GPS III satellite by the end of this calendar year. That’s right, in my humble opinion the first GPS III SV will be ready to deliver to the Air Force by December 2015. When it will actually be launched is anybody’s guess; obviously, the sooner the better. Apropos of the Boeing IIF initial launches and critical on-orbit anomalies, the sooner the LMCO GPS III is put into orbit for full-scale operational and mission analysis tests the better.
LADO and OCX
The critical question of course is: Will the U.S. Air Force (USAF) have a ground control system that can successfully and reliably launch and support a full-up GPS III SV by the end of 2015? Certainly not if they stay the course with OCX, but there are alternatives, and you know who you are! Can you say LADO, Launch/Early Orbit, Anomaly Resolution, Disposal and Operations System?
Consider that LADO has been utilized to launch GPS satellites as far back as the GPS IIR-M family of satellites, also produced by LMCO, one of which was successfully launched on October 17, 2007, using the then-new LADO system. That milestone ensured the GPS program continued to provide superior space-based navigation for billions of users, military, civilian and commercial, around the globe using industry-leading highly modified (Aces Premier) commercial launch technology. This significant achievement was the culmination of outstanding teamwork between the USAF, Braxton Technologies, the engineering firm and the prime contractor.
The LADO system formed and is still the backbone of the new GPS Command and Control (C2) functionality implemented by the prime contractor. It known today as the Advanced Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP). Subsequently, LADO is now the primary launch system for all current and future (IIR-M, IIF and possibly GPS III) satellites, which should allow the U.S. Air Force to retire some outdated legacy GPS ground support and command and control systems.
The first successful 2007 LADO launch and control of an operational GPS IIR-M satellite, and the 1SOPS and 2SOPS operators’ acceptance of the GPS LADO system, was proof that commercial software can be deployed effectively even in a militarily critical mission system, saving the government both cost and schedule without sacrificing mission-unique capabilities.
In my humble opinion, that is where we need to go today. Let’s return to the tried-and-true LADO and prime contractor partnership and launch the first GPS III SV by the end of this year, or certainly by early 2016. Please notice I have not made any statements concerning scrapping the hugely expensive, 100-percent-over-budget-and-schedule (years behind) OCX program of record. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USDATL) Frank Kendall recently announced the controversial decision that OCX as the program of record would go forward under strict scrutiny with definite milestones that must be met. Scrutiny is a fickle mistress, and historically on the OCX program, milestones are there to be missed. Meanwhile, the USAF requires a tried, proven and utterly reliable capability to launch GPS III SVs as soon as the first few become available. The USAF must place several GPS IIIs on orbit for a full checkout to ensure there are no major anomalies. Currently, LADO had an eight-year proven track record with no failures, and it remains the only program that can initiate, control and dispose of residual GPS satellites — including the IIAs, which are the longest lived GPS satellites on orbit today.
Beware, there will be many naysayers in government circles, and you may meet some of them at the symposium, that will tell you it is just not possible. But just stop by and talk candidly with LMCO Space Systems and Braxton Technologies personnel, and see what they have to say. You may be surprised by what you hear.
Then stop by the Raytheon booth and check on the status of OCX.
Lynn Dugle (courtesy of Raytheon)
Female Executives in the News
Speaking of OCX and Raytheon, Lynn Dugle retired from Raytheon on March 2, 2015. Historically, Lynn has been a very capable executive. She is the former president of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) business, which handles several key U.S. Air Force space contracts, including OCX, the current program of record for the next-generation ground system for GPS III. Dugle served as president of the division beginning in 2009.
David Wajsgras (your guess is as good as mine), Raytheon’s former senior vice president (SVP) and chief financial officer (CFO), has replaced Dugle. Wajsgras served as SVP and CFO of Raytheon Company from March 2006 to March 2015.
David Wajsgras (courtesy of Raytheon)
As a member of Raytheon’s senior leadership team, he directed Raytheon’s overall financial strategy. In my humble opinion, he has his work cut out for him. He will need all of his financial expertise and acumen to make OCX a success — financially and, hopefully, operationally. The program is grossly over budget, several years behind schedule, and reportedly, my sources tell me, far less capable than originally planned. Good luck, David.
As long as we are still speaking primarily of female executives with great track records, USAF Lieutenant General Ellen Pawlikowski, who I have had the honor of knowing and working with for the past 25 years, was recently nominated for her fourth star. General Pawlikowski successfully commanded the SMC (Space and Missile Systems Center) and served as Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Space for three years at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California. Among her many successful space acquisition programs, she was responsible for GPS procurement during her tenure.
Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, USAF (courtesy of the USAF)
Currently, General Pawlikowski serves on the East Coast in the Pentagon as the military deputy to William LaPlante, Ph.D., the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. In other words, LaPlante is the Air Force’s Service Acquisition Executive, responsible for all Air Force research, development and acquisition activities. Previously, just to add to her mystique, General Pawlikowski spent more than one tour at the super secret National Reconnaissance Office.
When confirmed, General Pawlikowski will be only the third female four-star general in U.S. Air Force history. A well-deserved honor and one that certainly merits acknowledgement. General Pawlikowski is scheduled to speak several times at the Space Symposium, so when you see her, congratulate her on a job well done and on being nominated for her fourth star, and wish her luck in her new assignment as the head (four-star commander) of Air Force Materiel Command.
Before we leave the female leader category, my sources tell me that USAF Colonel DeAnna Burt, commander of the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS, the GPS squadron) from 2008 to 2010, will in June 2015 become only the third female commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colorado — home to 2 SOPS. She follows in the very capable footsteps of then-Colonel Suzanne (Zan) Vautrinot, who was the first female wing commander at the50th Space Wing followed by then-Colonel Teresa (Terry) Djuric. Note that both Suzanne and Terry, who are now retired from active duty, went on to become general officers in the USAF.
Commander AFSPC – Gen. John Hyten (courtesy of the USAF)
Currently, Colonel Burt serves as director of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) Commander’s Action Group for General John Hyten. General Hyten, the current commander of AFSPC, is himself a former 50th Space Wing commander, and he will also be speaking several times at the space symposium. Here’s a big hint: As a four-star general, General Hyten has morphed into quite a forceful, informative, entertaining and engaging speaker. You won’t want to miss any of his presentations.
If you see Colonel Burt at the Space Symposium, please congratulate her on her new assignment, and you might offer her your prayers for the incredible amount of responsibility she is about to assume. I’m betting she can handle it.
GPS Directorate
Another USAF general officer you are sure to run into at the Space Symposium is a newly minted brigadier general known by some as Wild Bill Cooley. General Cooley, who is currently the director of the GPS Directorate at SMC, was pinned on just a few weeks ago and will be speaking several times at the symposium. Wild Bill also deserves your congratulations. By all accounts, he is doing a great job and has more stars in his future.
The Place to Be
So, while there are several points to be made, a key one appears to be that if you are heavily involved with the GPS program inside and outside the USAF and you do a good job, it can work wonders for your career. If you want to hear from those who have been successful, the 31st Space Symposium is the place to be.
I hope to see you at the Broadmoor April 13-16. Come early and wear your walking shoes. Please stop by the GPS World booth and say hello to everyone. I will be there for sure.
As I wind up this to-do list, I will tell you about another Space Symposium event where it is important, even critical, to be seen. Everyone who is anyone will be attending the Connecting Colorado private function on Wednesday evening, April 15. The event is hosted by the Braxton Science and Technology Group; this is the third year for the coveted event. As I have stated before, I have attended 26 of the 31 Space Symposiums, and I have never been to an after-hours function during that time that even approaches the quality and class that Connecting Colorado exudes. It is a first-class event in a visually stunning venue, where private access passes are required to enter and guards are serious about keeping out gatecrashers. If history is any guide, it promises to be an amazing evening of fine wines, sumptuous food, quality cigars, roaring fireplaces and professional camaraderie that can’t be beat. Plus, the networking opportunities are endless. In other words, the Connecting Colorado event is what all the other after-hours Space Symposium events long to be or wish they could emulate. I can’t wait. I hope to see you there, and at the 31st Space Symposium. By the way, April in the Rocky Mountains means dress appropriately — warmly works for me.
Until next time, Happy Navigating, and remember: GPS is brought to you courtesy of the United States Air Force.
In the report, the analysts have identified and deciphered the market dynamics in important GNSS industry segments, highlighting the areas offering promising possibilities for companies to boost their growth, according to Research and Markets. The report studies the market by sectors including location-based services (LBS), transportation (further divided into road navigation, rail navigation, air navigation and marine navigation), surveying and agriculture. The GNSS application market is further studied by region: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World.
The report provides a complete overview of the GNSS market globally. All the current trends and drivers, coupled with potential growth areas of the GNSS industry, have been evaluated in the report. Furthermore, the report provides information on opportunities in the industry for different companies in the chapter titled Opportunity Assessment.
Additionally, to provide an exhaustive knowledge of the prospects for GNSS players on the geographical front, the report provides comprehensive knowledge of the 10 most worthwhile GNSS markets around the world (U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, South Korea and India). It includes information about the present state and future outlook of the LBS and telematics markets in these countries along with information about their personal navigation systems such as GPS, BeiDou,Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS and IRNSS.
The report also looks into the competitive landscape covering business overviews, key financials, product analyses, recent developments and strengths and weaknesses of each of the players.
Key trends considered in the report include:
Driverless Car: New GNSS Technology Use
Indoor GNSS Positioning Poised for Growth
People, Pets and Thing Finder: The Next Attraction
GNSS Based Products: A Burgeoning Market Opportunity
The ground control system (OCX) that Raytheon is developing for the next-generation GPS program has passed a Pentagon review, reports Reuters. The program will be monitored to ensure it stays on track, a senior Air Force official said on Feb. 6 as reported by the news service.
Major General Roger Teague, director of space programs for the Air Force acquisition chief, said a review by chief arms buyer Frank Kendall went well, but program officials and the contractor got “tough marching orders” to stick to schedule and cost targets.
Raytheon’s program manager Matt Gilligan said the review provided the company with “clear direction, the best technology, and appropriate resources to…deliver OCX on a schedule that meets GPS enterprise needs.”
Kendall had ordered the review after an Air Force restructuring that increased the cost of the program by 80 percent to $1.6 billion.
Artist’s rendering of GPS III satellite (courtesy of Lockheed Martin).
Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin successfully completed the fourth of five planned launch and early orbit exercises to demonstrate new automation capabilities, information assurance and launch readiness of the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS III satellite and Operational Control System (OCX).
Successful completion of Exercise 4, on Oct. 3, represents a key milestone demonstrating the end-to-end capability to automatically transfer data between Raytheon’s OCX and Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite. One additional readiness exercise, five launch rehearsals and a mission dress rehearsal are planned prior to launch of the first GPS III satellite with OCX.
The exercise used the latest baseline of Raytheon’s OCX Launch Checkout System (LCS) software featuring integrated information assurance functionality for the first time and the latest version of Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite simulator. Exercise 4 successfully demonstrated mission planning and scheduling capabilities with the simulated Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) for the first time, including a replan scenario that would occur in the event of a launch slip.
The system also automatically generated antenna pointing angles for the simulated AFSCN, which until now have been manually generated. Exercise 4 expands on three previous exercises, introducing maneuver planning and reconstruction capabilities, as well as advanced planning and scheduling with AFSCN assets. The automation of these capabilities will allow GPS operators to spend their time optimizing system performance rather than focusing on routine operations.
“As part of establishing the LCS Block 0 baseline, the completion of Exercise 4 demonstrates the capability of OCX to successfully support a GPS-III satellite launch in an information assurance hardened environment,” said Matthew Gilligan, Raytheon vice president and GPS OCX program manager. “Exercise 4 began the instantiation of vital OCX automation capabilities that give operators their time back in order to focus on mission critical activities, one of the important elements of a modernized GPS.”
“Launch Exercise 4 demonstrated the team’s ability to complete nearly 100 percent of the GPS III space vehicle 1 launch and early orbit mission sequence,” said Mark Stewart, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area. “The findings the team made during this robust launch exercise will help mature the processes, procedures, and tools necessary to enter our rehearsal phase and ultimately the launch and checkout mission.”
GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities, and include enhancements that extend spacecraft life to 15 years, 25 percent longer than the newest Block IIF satellites. GPS III will be the first generation of GPS satellite with a new L1C civil signal designed to make it interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems. The first GPS III satellite is currently undergoing integration and testing, with final space vehicle delivery planned for late 2015.
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 4 was conducted using the recently completed Iteration 1.5 software, representing an early delivery of the final software baseline. Exercise 5, scheduled for 2015, will include critical information assurance features needed to support launch of the first GPS III satellite.
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.
Available for iPhone, iPad and Android, VIIRS View provides mobile device users a look into the type of data meteorologists and climatologists use every day to track the weather and monitor Earth’s environment.
Based on data generated by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite aboard Suomi NPP, VIIRS View combines visible light imagery, low-light nighttime imagery and ocean chlorophyll concentration onto a full Earth globe, rotatable and zoomable on any location on the planet.
A desktop version of the VIIRS View app, launched in February, has been downloaded more than 90,000 times.
An original large format VIIRS View interactive tabletop display is being shown at Raytheon Booth #203 at the the 30th Space Symposium, being held this week in Colorado Springs, Colorado. GPS World Defense Editor Don Jewell is providing coverage from the symposium.
The app can be downloaded by searching VIIRS View at the Google Play and Android stores, or by clicking here:
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.
The open architecture design of MAGR 2000-S24 allows modernization and upgrade of GPS functional capabilities through replacement of a single electronics module.
Raytheon Company has received a $15.8 million contract order for its MAGR 2000-S24 miniaturized airborne GPS receiver. The order, which includes new production and sustainment of existing systems, is the first under an Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to the company in September 2013 by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
Raytheon recently completed its 2,000th delivery of MAGR 2000 systems to the U.S. military and its allies in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. Flown on 20 types of fixed- and rotary-wing platforms, the MAGR 2000-S24 provides unparalleled navigation accuracy and resistance to interference and jamming. Its open architecture design allows for insertion of future GPS modernization enhancements, such as the new military code signal, without having to replace the unit itself.
“With the increasingly sophisticated threats posed by potential enemy nations, our customers recognize Raytheon as the gold standard for highly secure, highly adaptable GPS receivers for the airborne military environment,” said Sharon Black, director of GPS and Navigation Systems for Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems business. “Our innovative MAGR 2000-S24 design makes future unit replacement virtually unnecessary. Capability enhancements are as simple as swapping out the electronics module card, providing a highly cost-effective path for keeping fleets up-to-date with the latest GPS technology.”
The current MAGR 2000-S24 IDIQ contract extends through September 2017. The first order of 323 production units is scheduled for completion in June 2015.
Reportstack has announced a new report on The Global Military GPS/GNSS Market 2013-2023. This report offers the reader detailed analysis of the global military GPS/GNSS market over the next 10 years, alongside potential market opportunities to enter the industry, using detailed market size forecasts, Reportstack said.
A satellite navigation system provides GPS positioning from a global perspective, and is therefore of utmost importance for modern-day military operations, which rely on accurate real-time data on hostile forces in order to carry out precision attacks, Reportstack said. It is here that GPS/GNSS devices assume an important role, as they are imperative to transfer signals from these satellites back to earth.
The U.S. is the highest spender on military GPS/GNSS navigation, and is responsible for 42.9% of the global military GNSS devices market. Others major spenders in this sector include Russia, the UK, China and India. In July 2013, India launched the IRNSS-1A, the first of seven satellite constellation to be deployed under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) program to be completed between 2015-2016. And China’s BeiDou is scheduled to be operational by 2020.
Another factor driving the market is the integration of satellite navigation technology with other navigation systems, such as the inertial navigation system (INS) and gyro, as GPS devices are to be used in order to decipher data correctly, Reportstack said.
The increasing demand for satellite navigation and communications is driven primarily by the desire of militaries to monitor more areas and derive accurate information by a range of GNSS receivers/sensors in the shortest time possible. Major military aircraft and helicopters are dependent on GPS embedded INS systems for effective navigation. Similarly, naval vessels and guided munitions are increasingly relying on the collaboration of laser, gyro, INS, and satellite navigation technologies to derive accurate real time data.
Furthermore, it has been observed that the usage of standard positioning services/open service receivers, which use unencrypted signal for non-combat purposes has increased, and is expected to drive demand and encourage expenditure, Reportstack said. The military GPS/GNSS technology is expanding its horizon beyond the basic characteristics of navigation and tracking. The use of GPS, in conjunction with a number of software applications, has expanded its use in military operations. A number of new technologies are now embedded with GPS receivers to produce a more sophisticated military tool.
Recently, a Swiss-based company developed a device called GPS Log Book based on u-blox technology. The new device has extended the scope of GPS technology to the administrative side of military operations. It provides an easy way for military drivers to automatically keep an accurate travel log book which can be securely accessed later from anywhere via a web interface. Information logged includes route, speed, and distance traveled. It also keeps a close record of fuel used by the vehicle, based on the distance traveled at various speed levels.
The advent of Differential GPS (DGPS), an enhancement to GPS, which provides improved location accuracy, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to approximately 10 cm, has further expanded the scope of GPS in missile technology. The intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of hitting targets across thousands of miles navigation, use inertial navigation with DGPS receivers. The advent of DGPS is expected to be one of the most significant steps in accurate missile targeting for militaries across regions.
The companies mentioned in this report are Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins , Lockheed Martin, ITT Exelis, Thales, and BAE Systems. More details and table of contents about this report can be found by visiting The Global Military GPS/GNSS Market 2013-2023 report.
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.
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.
