Satellite Built By Lockheed Martin Successfully Launched From
Cape Canaveral
A US Air Force modernized Global
Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite was successfully
launched Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch vehicle. The
satellite, designated GPS IIR-19M, is the sixth in a line of eight
GPS IIR satellites that Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems, Valley
Forge, Pa. has modernized for its customer, the Global Positioning
Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air
Force Base, Calif.
The most recent mission represented the third successful launch
of a GPS IIR-M satellite in under five months and is one of the
final three Block IIR-M satellites planned for launch in 2008 to
sustain and improve the GPS constellation. Each IIR-M satellite
includes a modernized antenna panel that provides increased signal
power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for
improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming
capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal that will
provide users with an open access signal on a different
frequency.
"All of us at Lockheed Martin are proud of our long-standing
partnership with the Air Force and the Block IIR-M's impressive
record of performance," said Don DeGryse, Lockheed Martin's vice
president of Navigation Systems. "We look forward to conducting
another timely and efficient on-orbit checkout so that the
warfighter and civil users around the globe can benefit from this
satellite's advanced navigational capabilities as quickly as
possible."
The GPS constellation provides critical situational awareness
and precision weapon guidance for the military and supports a wide
range of civil, scientific and commercial functions -- from air
traffic control to the Internet -- with precision location and
timing information. Lockheed Martin and its navigation payload
provider ITT of Clifton, N.J. designed and built 21 IIR spacecraft
and subsequently modernized eight of those spacecraft designated
Block IIR-M for the Air Force. The final satellite, which includes
a new demonstration payload that will provide a temporary on-orbit
demonstration for the new civil signal, known as L5, has just
completed final integration testing and is on track for shipment to
Cape Canaveral next month in preparation for launch in June.
The Global Positioning System enables properly equipped users to
determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude,
longitude and altitude to within a few meters. 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.
Lockheed Martin is also leading a team which includes ITT and
General Dynamics in the competition to build the U.S. Air Force's
next-generation Global Positioning System, GPS Block III. The
next-generation program will improve position, navigation, and
timing services for the warfighter and civil users worldwide and
provide advanced anti-jam capabilities yielding improved system
security, accuracy and reliability. A multi-billion dollar
development contract is scheduled to be awarded by the Global
Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los
Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. in early 2008.
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