The US Air Force has awarded contracts to Lock-heed Martin and Boeing valued at $16 million each to start a 12-month system architecture and requirements definition study (SARD) for the next generation GPS III system.
SARD will evolve military and civilian needs into performance and architectural concepts that optimise cost, schedule, performance and risk. The US Air Force will then award two contracts for a 26 month Programme Definition/ Risk Reduction (PDRR) phase and the single winner will be awarded responsibility for the GPS III engineering, manufacturing and development programme, as well as sustainment of all GPS space and ground elements.
Key objectives of the GPS III include the addition of two new high power spot beam military code signals to the L-1 and L-2 channels that provide significantly enhanced anti-jam capability, the addition of two new civilian channels providing three higher power navigation signals and the simplification of GPS ground control architecture. The first new series satellite will be launched in 2009.
The Russian Space and Aviation Agency, meanwhile, says the Russian positioning satellite system, Glonass, will be reinforced by six new NPO Applied Mechanics Plant satellites next year. The system currently only comprises 11 operational satellites but requires 24 to be fully operational, although it can operate efficiently serving Russia and Europe with three less spacecraft.
The new satellites will have a predicted service life of five to seven years compared with the present three years, while a new Glonass K series, the first of which will be launched in 2003-2004, will be 50% lighter, enabling them to carry more payload.
The space agency says that it is seeking international investment from China and and Europe for the new satellites as the $53 million minimum budget to keep the Glonass constellation operational is 50% below the required amount.
• A Boeing Delta II was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral on 10 November carrying a Lockheed Martin-built Navstar GPS Block IIF satellite. It was the 33rd successful Delta II/Navstar launch since 1989.The next Delta II launch is set for 18 November from Vandenberg AFB, California, carrying NASA's EO-1 satellite and Argentina's SAC research satellite.
Source: Flight International
