GPS World, January 2012

THE SYSTEM GPS III Testbed Sat Delivered Drone Downed Lockheed Martin delivered the the GPS III Non Flight Satellite Testbed GNST the programs pathfinder spacecraft to its Denver area facility The pathfinder will now undergo final assembly integration and test activities The GNST is a full sized flight equivalent prototype of a GPS III satellite used to identify and solve development issues prior to integration and test of the first space vehicle According to the company the approach reduces risk improves production predictability increases mission assurance and lowers overall program costs In Denver the GNST will be mated with its core structure navigation payload and antenna elements before completing pathfinding activities and checkout of environmental test facilities The GNST will then be shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Fla for pathfinding activities at the launch site GPS III satellites when launched as scheduled to being in 2014 will replace aging on orbit GPS satellites to deliver better accuracy and improved anti jamming power while enhancing spacecraft design life and adding a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with international global navigation satellite systems In parallel with the GNST progress on the first space vehicle is progressing on schedule Lockheed Martin received the core structure for the first GPS III satellite in Stennis Mississippi on August 4 and is now integrating the space vehicles flight propulsion subsystem The integrated core propulsion module will be shipped to the GPF in the summer of 2012 and will then undergo final assembly integration and test in order to meet its planned 2014 launch The GPS III team is led by the GPS Directorate at the U S Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center Lockheed Martin is the GPS III prime contractor with teammates ITT General Dynamics Infinity Systems Engineering Honeywell ATK and other subcontractors Press reports speculate that GPS spoofing was used to get the RQ 170 Sentinel Drone to land in Iran According to an Iranian engineer quoted in a Christian Science Monitor story By putting noise jamming on the communications you force the bird into autopilot This is where the bird loses its brain At that point the drone relies on GPS signals to get home By spoofing GPS Iranian engineers were able to get the drone to land on its own where we wanted it to without having to crack the remote control signals and communications The GPS navigation is the weakest point the Iranian engineer told the Monitor giving a detailed description of Irans electronic ambush of the highly classified pilotless aircraft In 2011 the U S Air Force awarded two 47 million contracts to BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman for development of a navigation warfare sensor to replace military GPS receivers on aircraft and missiles and designed to maintain freedom of action under extreme GPS countermeasures OUR VISION FOR GPS ANY POWER ANY FREQUENCY ANY DENSITY ANYWHERE www locatacorp com YOUR OWN GPS The Local Constellation is launched ION 2011 The trademarks Locata GPS 20 Your Own GPS and Local Constellation are registered to Locata Corporation www gpsworld com January 2012 GPS World 15