24/7 Space News  





.
GPS NEWS
Lockheed Martin-Built GPS Satellite Surpasses 10 Years On-Orbit

File image.
by Staff Writers
Newtown PA (SPX) Aug 10, 2010
The fifth Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-5) satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin to provide critical navigation capabilities for military and civilian users worldwide, has reached 10 years of successful on-orbit operations.

The satellite was launched on July 16, 2000, and is one of 30 GPS spacecraft currently on-orbit delivering vital situational awareness and precision weapon guidance for the military, and supporting a wide range of civil, scientific and commercial functions.

The GPS constellation is increasing productivity in areas as diverse as farming, mining, construction, surveying, package delivery and supply chain management, while also enhancing public safety by reducing response times for emergency services.

As the prime contractor for the GPS IIR program, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Newtown, Pa., designed and built 21 IIR spacecraft for the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

The final eight spacecraft, designated Block IIR-M, were modernized to enhance operations and navigation signal performance. The current fleet of Block IIR and IIR-M satellites within the overall GPS constellation has reached over 100 cumulative operational years on-orbit.

The U.S. Air Force's next-generation GPS spacecraft, known as GPS III, is being built by a Lockheed Martin-led team that includes industry partners ITT of Clifton, N.J. and General Dynamics of Gilbert, Ariz.

"This milestone is yet another example of the talented government-industry team dedicated to delivering GPS capabilities to the warfighter and millions of citizens around the globe," said Joe Trench, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Navigation Systems. "We look forward to many more milestones and to achieving mission success on the next generation GPS III program."

The GPS III team is progressing through the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase of the program and is scheduled to complete the overall space vehicle CDR in mid-August, two months ahead of schedule. This milestone will validate the detailed GPS III design to ensure it meets warfighter and civil requirements, and allow the program to begin the production phase. The first GPS IIIA satellite is projected to launch in 2014.

GPS III will improve position, navigation and timing services and provide advanced anti-jam capabilities yielding superior system security, accuracy and reliability. The next generation GPS IIIA satellites will deliver significant improvements over current GPS space vehicles, including a new international civil signal (L1C) and increased M-Code anti-jam power with full earth coverage for military users.




Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Lockheed Martin
GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers



Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


hello world
GPS NEWS
Sea Star Line GUARDIAN SERVICE Offers Reefer Monitoring, Tracking, Tracing And Control
Jacksonville FL (SPX) Aug 10, 2010
Sea Star Line announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Mark-It Services in order to equip their refrigerated systems (Reefers) with both Global Positioning and Radio Frequency Identifications Systems creating the Sea Star Line Refrigerated Cargo Guardian Service. In an industry first, Sea Star Line introduces the Sea Star Line refrigerated cargo Guardian Service. The ne ... read more

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
  


GPS NEWS
NASA Seeks Data From Innovative Lunar Demonstrations

Mimicking The Moon's Surface In The Basement

Russia To Launch Moon Probe In 2012

Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, to turn 80

GPS NEWS
Spirit In Sweep And Beep Mode

Opportunity Performs Science And Rolls To Endeavour Crater

Hundreds Of New Views From Telescope Orbiting Mars

New Project Manager For Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

GPS NEWS
Hawking: Outer space offers human survival

Training Astronauts For Space - Under Water

Senate passes its version of NASA budget

This Month In Exploration - August

GPS NEWS
US Senate panel votes to extend space shuttle program

Last Shuttle External Tank Rollout At Michoud

United Space Alliance To Slash Workforce As Shuttle Ends

NASA reschedules two final space shuttle launches

GPS NEWS
Astronauts plan second spacewalk to fix ISS cooling system

Astronauts remove failed cooling pump in ISS spacewalk

Third spacewalk needed to fix station cooling system: NASA

Next Spacewalk No Earlier Than Wednesday

GPS NEWS
Arianespace Announces Launch Contracts For Intelsat-20 And GSAT 10 Satellites

Arianespace Launches Two Satellites

New Rocket Launch Period In And Around Tanegashima

Kourou Spaceport Welcomes New Liquid Oxygen And Liquid Nitrogen Production Facility

GPS NEWS
Planets In Unusually Intimate Dance Around Dying Star

Detector Technology Could Help NASA Find Earth-Like Exoplanets

NASA Finds Super-Hot Planet With Unique Comet-Like Tail

Recipes For Renegade Planets

GPS NEWS
Nvidia chip team gets 25 million dollars from US military

Chinese 'peel' widget converts Apple Touch to phone: report

Russia works with CIS to upgrade radar

Google phones unseat BlackBerry as top sellers in US


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement