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UA9FBV > SAT 04.05.03 17:15l 53 Lines 2024 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS-124.04
Read: GUEST
Subj: Upgraded GPS satellite Shipped To Cape for July Launch
Path: DB0ZKA<DB0FSG<DB0MAK<DB0MRW<OK0PKL<DB0GRL<SR6BOX<OK0PHL<OK0PPL<RZ6HXA<
UA9FBV
Sent: 030504/1409Z @:UA9FBV.PRM.RUS.AS #:34557 [Perm] GATEWAY $:ANS-124.04
From: UA9FBV@UA9FBV.PRM.RUS.AS
To : SAT@AMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 124.04 From AMSAT HQ
Silver Spring, MD. May 4, 2003
To All Radio Amateurs
BID: $ANS-124.04
As the U.S. Air Force prepares to launch its third Global Positioning Sys=
tem
(GPS) satellite this year, prime contractor Lockheed Martin has set a new
record for operational checkout of the recently-launched GPS IIR-9
satellite.
Following the March 31 launch of GPS IIR-9, Lockheed Martin executed an
accelerated on-orbit payload initialization in just 11 days -- a record f=
or
any GPS satellite -- so that the satellite could be quickly placed into
service in support of the current military operations. Two months earlier=
,
the team achieved a 20-day check out of GPS IIR-8, which was launched on
Jan. 29.
The next satellite, designated GPS IIR-10, was recently shipped to Cape
Canaveral from Lockheed Martin's facilities in Valley Forge, Pa. for a
scheduled launch in late July.
The satellite features significant performance upgrades, including a
modernized antenna panel and increased power for GPS receivers. There are
eight new-generation GPS IIR spacecraft currently on orbit out of a total
GPS constellation of 28 satellites.
The GPS IIR satellites are compatible with the current system and provide
improved navigation accuracy, achieved by using an ITT Industries payload
system. Additionally, increased autonomy and longer spacecraft life are
inherent in the Lockheed Martin satellite design.
To bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, Lockheed Martin is un=
der
contract to modernize eight existing GPS IIR spacecraft already built and=
in
storage.
GPS modernization is being performed at the Space & Strategic Missiles -
Valley Forge, Pa. facilities and ITT Industries, Clifton, N.J. facilities.
The first launch of a GPS IIR-M satellite is scheduled for July 2004. The
U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, El Segundo, Calif., is t=
he
contracting agency.
[ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information]
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