U.S. Air Force launches advanced GPS Satellite

The U.S. Air Force has launched an upgraded Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin NYSE: LMT aboard a Delta II rocket on March 20, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Improved satellite features include an advanced antenna panel, which will deliver greater performance and power for GPS receivers.

The Global Positioning System allows any properly equipped user to determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude, longitude and altitude to within a few meters. Although originally designed as a guidance and navigational tool for the military, GPS has proven beneficial in the commercial and civil markets for transportation, surveying and rescue operations.

The Air Force’s GPS constellation currently comprises 27 satellites, including nine new-generation GPS IIR spacecraft. Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., GPS IIR satellites are designed to improve worldwide coverage and increase the overall performance of the global positioning constellation.

The very first GPS satellite was launched on February 22, 1978 aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Air Force Space Command, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.

The U.S. Air Force has selected Raytheon for a contract of $886 million to develop a new element of the Global Positioning System (GPS), called the Advanced Control Segment (OCX), to improve the accuracy of information from GPS satellites. The new segment will include anti-jam capabilities and improved security, accuracy, and reliability and will be based on a modern service-oriented architecture to integrate government and industry open-system standards. The GPS, a satellite-based radio navigation system for the military and the public, consists of three major segments: the user segment, the space segment, and the control segment, which includes a master control station and ground antennas.