GPS World, June 2014

SyStem the Policy and system news and developments GPS Galileo GLONASS Beidou Sixth GPS IIF Launched into Orbit A sixth GPS IIF satellite was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 8 08 p m EDT May 16 The satellite designated GPS IIF 6 and built by Boeing is one of the next generation GPS satellites incorporating improvements to provide greater accuracy increased signals and enhanced performance for users According to Boeing each GPS IIF satellite has greater navigational accuracy through improvements in atomic clock technology and a new civilian L5 signal to aid commercial aviation and search and rescue operations Interestingly the rocket is the first to be tracked via GPS instead of by radar United Launch Alliances Atlas and Delta rockets are transitioning to GPS metric tracking for range safety functions which protect the public and property should a launch vehicle veer off course The move is a money saving upgrade to the militarys aging range infrastructure A special avionics system on the launcher transmitted the location For decades most rockets launching from Cape Canaveral Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base California have been tracked by C band radar Two more GPS IIF satellites are scheduled to launch before the end of the year GPS IIF 6 lifts off from Cape Canaveral Galileo FOC Satellites Reach Spaceport Galileos first two full operational capability FOC satellites arrived in Kourou French Guiana on May 7 in preparation for launch this summer Manufactured by OHB in Bremen Germany with navigation payloads contributed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in Guildford UK these satellites the first of 22 full capability models had spent several months at ESAs Technical Centre ESTEC in Noordwijk the Netherlands where they underwent exhaustive testing in simulated space conditions The Galileo satellites are named for the children who won a painting competition organized by the European Commission in 2011 Doresa and Milena the first two FOC satellites will be launched together aboard a Soyuz rocket joining the four Galileos already in orbit Adam the third Galileo FOC satellite is now undergoing testing under space conditions at ESTEC Anastacia the fourth Galileo FOC satellite will begin final testing at OHB in Bremen before being shipped to ESTEC A steady stream of satellites is foreseen coming from OHB to ESTEC for acceptance testing and then on to French Guiana said an ESA official GPS World reported in its April enewsletter EAGER that Galileo may have already fallen off its planned three launch schedule for 2014 Arianespace is already facing an exceptionally crowded launch manifest in 2014 A well informed source opined If one were to hazard a guess here is the most likely scenario O3b arrives ready for launch several weeks ahead of Galileo and secures the June launch Galileo moves to August and is promised a second launch in the autumn O3bs planned second launch in 2014 is moved to early 2015 as is the planned third launch of Galileo The effect of these schedule slips on the cost of the Galileo program which is about a year late cost overruns that Tajani has vowed will not be paid by the commission is a subject for another day GPS World June 2014 www gpsworld com 6