Lockheed Martin GPS satellites completes 50 years in orbit

BY A CORRESPONDENT
March 2, 2006

Lockheed Martin's Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIR satellites to enhance the performance of GPS constellation have completed 50 years of successful in-orbit operations.

GPS comes in handy for the military in services such as situational awareness and precision weapon guidance. GPS also supports civil, scientific and commercial functions with precision location and timing information. The services offered range from air traffic control to the Internet.

within the overall 28-spacecraft GPS constellation, 13 are operational Block IIR satellites. It also includes the first modernized IIR satellite which was recently declared fully operational for the for the users. The announcement followed after extensive in-orbit testing of the spacecraft's new military and civilian signals.

Dr Don DeGryse, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Navigation Systems said, "GPS has not only proven to be a national asset for our military, but has also become an important service for civil and commercial users around the globe. We take great pride in the sustained performance of the GPS IIR satellites on-orbit and look forward to delivering greater navigation capabilities now that we are launching the modernized series."

The special features incorporated into the GPS IIR-M aircraft include two new signals and enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, as well as a second civil signal. It ensures both the civilian and military users of enhanced capabilities.

Lockheed Martin's factory at Valley Forge, Pa., and ITT Industries in Clifton, N.J housed the GPS modernization tests. The engineers are busy with the launch of the second IIR-M satellite scheduled for liftoff in 2006 from Cape Canaveral.