Space operations units assume control of new GPS satellite

by Staff Sgt. Don Branum, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- The 2nd and 19th Space Operations Squadrons here assumed control of the Air Force's newest GPS satellite shortly after its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., March 24.

The satellite, named GPS IIR-20(M), is the 34th satellite in the GPS constellation, which provides precise navigation and timing data to military and civilian customers around the world.

Space operators with 2nd SOPS and 19th SOPS took over early-orbit operations for the new satellite 68 minutes after launch, said Lt. Col. Douglas Schiess, 2nd SOPS operations officer.

"We're getting it ready to provide its combat effects to warfighters as soon as possible," Colonel Schiess said. "It's a great team effort by 2nd SOPS and 19th SOPS."

GPS IIR-M satellites provide combat capability for military applications such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions and handheld, vehicle-based and aircraft navigation aids. Civilian applications include ATMs, bank and stock market transactions and power grid management. Currently, 31 of the 34 GPS satellites in orbit transmit navigation and timing signals to users.

A Delta II launch vehicle carried GPS IIR-20(M) into low-Earth orbit. From there, a booster will lift the satellite into its operational orbit approximately 12,500 miles above the Earth.

The launch was delayed from June 2008 due to a fault in the 40-second timer that triggers separation of the third-stage booster from the satellite. Air Force and contractor engineers resolved the problems, said Lt. Col. John Wagner, mission director for the Launch and Range Systems Wing at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
The IIR-M spacecraft includes several upgrades from the earlier Block IIR model. A modernized antenna panel provides a stronger signal that is more resistant to GPS jamming and stronger encryption for military signals. It also includes two military signals and one civil signal beyond those transmitted by earlier GPS satellites.

Other Air Force Space Command agencies that supported the launch include the 22nd Space Operations Squadron here, the 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla., and the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB. Contractor partners included United Launch Alliance, the Aerospace Corporation and Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Air Force receives last GPS IIR satellite

by Staff Sgt. Don Branum, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs

Employees at the Lockheed Martin plant in Valley Forge, Pa., prepare GPS IIR(M)-20 for shipment to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite, scheduled to launch June 30, is the last of the IIR-series GPS satellites the Air Force is receiving from Lockheed Martin. (Lockheed Martin photo/Stephen B. Griffin)

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) -- The Air Force received the last in a series of GPS IIR(M) satellites from Lockheed Martin during an recent fly-out ceremony at the Lockheed Martin facility in Valley Forge, Penn.

"The IIR satellites have been great," said Lt. Col. Doug Schiess, operations officer for the 2nd Space Operations Squadron. He represented the 50th Space Wing at the ceremony. "One of the things they've done for us is allowed us to reduce our operations tempo. We used to have to do two supports per day on all GPS satellites, but the IIRs have allowed us to go down to one support per day."

The IIR satellites require less support because they have improved autonomous capabilities. The primary autonomous capability is a IIR redundancy management function, which tracks and manages the satellite's subsystems. Internal tests are run regularly and components can be autonomously swapped if a failure is detected.

The IIR series of satellites also has been more robust. After nearly 11 years since the first IIR satellite was launched, all the IIR satellites remain operational and are still on their primary clocks.

"We have multiple clocks for redundancy on each satellite," Colonel Schiess said. "Our older IIA satellites are on their second or third clocks, but we haven't had to change a clock yet for the IIR satellites."

This robustness makes the satellites more likely to live beyond their projected design lifetimes, which means more utility for taxpayers' dollars.

When GPS IIR(M)-20 launches this summer, it will be the 19th IIR satellite in orbit. Of those 19 satellites, seven are the newer IIR(M) models, which provide an additional signal called L2C for civilian use and additional military code, or M-code, signals.

"The M-code is a modification that the Air Force asked Lockheed Martin to do after they had the GPS IIR contract," Colonel Schiess said. "The M-code provides anti-jam capability, and as we saw we were going into a jamming environment, we knew we'd need the capability sooner than it would have been available on the GPS IIF satellites."

Lockheed-Martin specialists, at the request of Air Force officials, pulled some of the satellites that were ready for launch out of storage to add the M-code, flex power and L2C capability.

GPS IIR(M)-20 also will transmit on a frequency called L5, which is primarily designed for aviation safety-of-life applications.

"Lockheed-Martin modified this satellite (per the Air Force's request) to transmit on the L5 frequency so we can demonstrate to the International Telecommunication Union (the United Nations body that governs use of satellite communication frequencies) that we're using the frequency," Colonel Schiess said. "We had to start using the frequency or we'd lose the ability to say it's ours."

The L5 payload aboard the IIR satellite will provide a demonstration signal that secures exclusive protection of the L5 signal spectrum for U.S. use.

GPS IIR(M)-20 is the last IIR(M) satellite the Air Force received due to the L-5 modification, but it will not be the last IIR(M) satellite to launch. GPS IIR(M)-20 is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station June 30. The last IIR(M) satellite to launch, GPS IIR(M)-21, is scheduled for liftoff Sept. 11.

AF launches Delta II/GPS mission

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The U.S. Air Force successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster carrying the fourth modernized GPS satellite into space Oct. 17 8:23 a.m. (EDT) from Space Launch Complex 17A here.

The satellite will join the constellation of 30 operational satellites on orbit providing global coverage and increased performance of the GPS services to users worldwide.

"The 45th Space Wing and its mission partners have again accomplished another major milestone in our national quest to improve and maintain our space capabilities," said Col. Stephen Butler, 45th Space Wing vice commander. "The GPS constellation has worldwide significance and all of the satellites are launched from right here at the world's premier gateway to space."

GPS is the world's foremost space-based positioning and navigation system. Endeavors such as mapping, aerial refueling, rendezvous operations, geodetic surveying and search and rescue operations have all benefited from GPS's accuracy.

"GPS is not only a military asset, but a national asset due to its civil applications," said Capt. Bill Bakker, GPS IIR field program manager, 45th Launch Support Squadron. "This mission is vital to the sustainment of our GPS constellation. Our team takes a great deal of satisfaction and pride in replenishing a constellation that is so critical to our warfighters."

Work completed on modernized GPS satellites

Lockheed Martin has delivered the eighth and final satellite in the modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) production to the U.S. Air Force. The GPS constellation provides situational awareness and precision weapon guidance for the military. The worldwide system also supports a range of civil, scientific and commercial functions – from air traffic control to the Internet — with precision location and timing information.

Currently, three IIR-M spacecraft are in orbit, along with 12 original Block IIR satellites within the overall 30-spacecraft GPS constellation. Each satellite in the Block IIR-M series 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.

Based on the navigation user range error, which measures GPS accuracy, the Block IIR satellites enable suitably equipped users to determine precise time and velocity as well as worldwide latitude, longitude and altitude to within one meter.

The final eight spacecraft, designated Block IIR-M, were modernized to enhance operations and navigation signal performance for military and civilian GPS users around the globe. The company is also responsible for launch and flight operations support of the GPS IIR and IIR-M satellites.

The third GPS IIR-M spacecraft was launched successfully on Nov. 17, 2006 by Air Force Space Command's 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., which manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users. Whereas the fourth GPS Block IIR-M satellite was delivered to Cape Canaveral to support a late 2007 launch.