A massive C-17 aircraft
delivered a full-sized,
functional GPS III satellite to CCAFS
in Florida on July 19 so
that the facilities and
pre-launch processes
could be tested,
further reducing risk
and gaining efficiencies.
The first GPS III flight
satellite is expected to
launch in 2015.
Image: Lockheed Martin
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beyond 2025. The first MUOS satellite
was launched in 2012. It has been
providing secure voice, video, and
data connections to mobile users.
Following the Atlas V launch,
a C7 aircraft touched down on
1
the runway at Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, carrying the
GPS III Nonlight Satellite Testbed
F
(GNST) – a fully functional, fullized
s
prototype of the next generation
GPS (Global Positioning System). It
was conducting a “dress rehearsal”
to test the pre
launch processing
activities that the first GPS III flight
space vehicle (SV 01) will endure.
The “dress rehearsal” started at
Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing
Facility in Denver, Colorado, where
the GNST went through production
and testing. It was packed onto the
Air Force C 7 aircraft from Buckley
1
Air Force Base and put through a
dry run of the flight activities. The
offloading of the satellite from
the plane that took place that
afternoon is another step in process.
The start o nish dry run is how the
t fi
Air Force discovers the the strengths
and weaknesses in the procedures
they have in place, so that any
risks taken are with the prototype
instead of the real thing.
Vice President for Lockheed
Martin’s Navigation Systems mission
area, Dr. Keoki Jackson explained,
“All future GPS III satellites will follow
this same path, so the GNST was a
smart initiative to help us discover
and resolve any issues in advance,
implement production efficiencies,
and ultimately save a tremendous
amount of time and money in the
long run.”
This successful deployment of this
constellation of satellites is critical
for the Air Force. Military personnel
and civilians use GPS navigation
constantly in fact, it is nearly
impossible for anyone to go through
an entire day without somehow
using this technology. The simplest
example is on your cell phone – a
device that has become like an
artificial body part for many people
where time is synchronized across
all networks, despite the carrier. GPS
technology makes that happen.
The GPS system that is currently in
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