GPS World, July 2015

THE SYSTEM Raytheon Demonstrates GPS OCX Capabilities On June 3 Raytheon demonstrated the advanced capabilities of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System GPS OCX to key U S Department of Defense DoD and other stakeholders through a series of realistic operational demonstrations The demonstrations which incorporated software that will be delivered with the Launch and Checkout System validated how automation will improve system efficiency and effectiveness GPS OCX is the ground based command and control system that will manage GPS satellites with significantly improved accuracy and precision while providing unprecedented levels of cyber protection The demonstration provided DoD and other stakeholders with a look at how OCX will automate many tasks currently performed manually resulting in reduced opportunities for error and increased operational tempo for delivering military and other applications Raytheon said Raytheon demonstrated the benefits of OCX in providing new high power jam resistant military signal M code as well as the systems unprecedented cyber automation detection and response capabilities Raytheon is installing the Block 0 Launch and Checkout System LCS hardware at Schriever Air Force Base LCS software which includes the cyber hardened infrastructure for OCX Block 1 is in the qualification test phase and is on track for delivery in mid 2016 SpaceX Falcon 9 OKd for GPS Launches The U S Air Force has certified SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket to launch military satellites clearing the way for SpaceX to bid on launches of GPS III satellites SpaceX based in Hawthorne Calif is now eligible for award of qualified national security space launch missions as one of two certified launch providers The first opportunity for SpaceX to compete is the USAF Request for Proposal for GPS III launch services The two year certification effort encompassed 125 certification criteria including more than 2800 discrete tasks and three certification flight demonstrations verifying 160 payload interface requirements 21 major subsystem reviews and 700 audits to establish the technical baseline from which the Air Force will make future flight worthiness determinations for launch EGNOS Continued from page 10 Two Galileos in Testing Two Stored of the final approach segment and the Europes latest Galileo was unboxed at ESAs technical centre in the Netherlands in May bringing the total number of satellites at the site to four ESTEC is an essential stop on the way to space for Europes Galileo satellites built by OHB in Bremen Germany with navigation payloads from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in Guildford UK The 12th Galileo arrived by lorry from Bremen on May 13 in a custombuilt environmentally controlled container The satellite will begin with a thermal vacuum test in a 45 meter diameter stainless steel chamber subjected to about five weeks of hard vacuum and the temperature extremes of space Galileo 11 recently completed the same trial before moving on to final system testing including a compatibility run with the ground network The ninth and tenth satellites are in storage at ESTEC having passed their own checks They will be flown to Europes Spaceport in French Guiana in late July for launch by Soyuz in September which will bring the total in orbit into double figures Full Operational Capability satellites are now being launched regularly to increase the size of the constellation to the point where early Galileo services can begin next year fact that the SBAS LPV vertical profile is geometric and fixed in space The system can also be useful for creating en route diversions and allows creation of instrumented approaches Overall the SLS development on the A350 XWB had been a very positive experience he said With a near term target of 500 runways to be EGNOS enabled in Europe the support available for airports and operators wanting to benefit from EGNOS was emphasized by the GSA During 2015 the agency has allotted 6 million to co fund projects to implement EGNOS in aviation A similar amount had also been allocated in 2014 GSA provided technical and educational support for implementation as well as financial assistance For the full EGNOS story see www gpsworld com egnosflight More News Online See www gpsworld com GPS World July 2015 www gpsworld com 12