United States Second Tender

The U.S. Air Forces second next-generation GPS III satellite built by Lockheed Martin NYSE LMT is responding to commands under control and now using its own internal propulsion system to get to orbit following its successful launch this morning.At about 1101 a.m. ET Air Force and Lockheed Martin engineers at Lockheed Martins Launch Checkout Facility near Denver declared they had full control of GPS III Space Vehicle 02 GPS III SV02 shortly after the satellites separation from its United Launch Alliance ULA Delta IV rocket booster. The satellite nicknamed Magellan by the Air Force began its rocket ride to space with a 906 a.m. ET launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.GPS III SV02 is now climbing towards its operational orbit about 12550 miles above the earth under the power of its own Liquid Apogee engines. Engineers at Lockheed Martin Spaces Waterton Colorado facility are commanding the satellite using elements of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System OCX Block 0.GPS III SV02 is receiving and responding to commands just as planned. In the days ahead well finish orbit raising to our operational slot and then send the satellite commands telling it to deploy its solar arrays and antennas said Johnathon Caldwell Lockheed Martin Spaces Vice President for Navigation Systems. Once we are set up well begin on-orbit checkout and tests including extensive signals testing with our advanced navigation payload.GPS III SV02 is the second GPS III satellite designed and built by Lockheed Martin to help the Air Force modernize Global Positioning System GPS constellation with new technology and capabilities. GPS III satellites provide 3x greater accuracy and up to 8x improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III also provides a new L1C civil signal compatible with other international global navigation satellite systems like Europes Galileo.The First GPS III Satellite Completes On Orbit TestingGPS III SV02 will be the second GPS III satellite in orbit and the second GPS III satellite now being commanded from Lockheed Martin Spaces facility.On December 23 2018 the Air Force launched the first GPS III satellite. Nicknamed Vespucci GPS III SV01 underwent months of checkout and thorough testing of its advanced new navigation payload provided by Harris Corporation.GPS III SV01s performance exceeded expectations during testing Caldwell said. On July 12 we officially completed all On Orbit Check Out Test activities. We are excited to see this satellite move to the next phase and perform in an operational environment. Thats expected to happen later this year once the first satellite is handed over to the Air Force.Thinking Ahead From the Ground UpIn preparation for this handover in 2016 the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS III Contingency Operations COps contract to upgrade its current GPS ground control system the Operational Control Segment OCS to be able to fly todays 31-satellite constellation as well as the new more-powerful GPS III satellites until OCX Block 1 still in development is delivered.Lockheed Martin delivered the GPS III COps software upgrade in May and it is currently undergoing preparations for installation. COps is the latest GPS ground control upgrade project Lockheed Martin has had since it began sustaining the OCS in 2013. In November 2018 the company completed the AEP 7.5 upgrade - the largest architectural change in the systems history - replacing significant code hardware and software to improve the systems cybersecurity capabilities and positioning the Air Force to better operate in contested degraded and operationally limited environments.In December 2018 the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS Control Segment Sustainment II GCS II contract to continue to further modernize and sustain the OCS through 2025.In 2020 the OCS is expected to receive the M-Code Early Use MCEU upgrade which will allow control of M-Code an advanced new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing as well as to increase secure access to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces.With GPS III SV01 and SV02 now on orbit GPS III satellites continue to roll off the production line at Lockheed Martins advanced 128-million GPS III Processing Facility near Denver. On May 27 the Air Force declared the GPS III SV03 Available for Launch AFL and had the company place it into storage waiting for a launch date. GPS III SV04-08 are now in various stages of assembly and test.In all Lockheed Martin is under contract to build up to 32 next-generation GPS IIIIIIF satellites for the Air Force. Additional IIIF capabilities will begin being added at the 11th satellite. These will include a fully digital navigation payload a Regional Military Protection capability an accuracy-enhancing laser retroreflector array and a Search Rescue payload.Lockheed Martin is proud to be a part of the Air Forces GPS III team. The GPS III team is led by the Production Corps Mid-Earth Orbit Division at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Air Force Space Commands 2nd Space Operations Squadron 2SOPS based at Schriever Air Force Base Colorado manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.