May 1, 2017
Door Open to New Bidders as Air Force Moves Closer to GPS III Buy
After a couple of changes in direction and spending some $18 million to verify the technical chops of their most likely suppliers, defense officials appear ready to buy up to 22 new GPS III spacecraft. Although three firms are now well positioned to bid on the potentially lucrative contract, the Defense Department continues to leave the contracting door ajar for newcomers, just in case. ( more)
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Satellite navigation signals from space are precariously weak and can easily be blocked, damaged, or compromised by a growing array of threats - including solar activity, man-made interference, malicious faking of GPS signals, and the manipulation of position and timing information. As we come to rely more and more on GNSS signals and data across a wide range of industries, understanding and mitigating against these threats will become a critical risk management activity for manufacturers, systems and applications providers, and end-users. 
 
Solutions to Space Debris Problems Addressed at European Conference  
Space debris is becoming a bigger problem for space agencies and private companies, and NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) are just two of many organizations around the globe that are concerned. Earlier this month experts gathered in Germany to discuss the problem and to review possible solutions. ( more)
OCX Passes Deep Dive Review; GAO Says Program Risk Remains High
The new GPS ground system has passed its most recent in-depth review and completed a schedule and budget re-baselining though a new government watchdog report says the program remains at "high risk of cost overruns, schedule delays and performance shortfalls." ( more)
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Ellipse roll & pitch accuracy has improved by a factor of two (now 0.1° on all sensors), new accelerometers tolerate very high vibration environments (up to 8g), Galileo has been added to the Ellipse-N.   
At 25 years old, Global Positioning System Satellite Vehicle Number 27 completed its time in orbit on April 18, and the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) said goodbye via final command after disposal operations were complete. SVN 27 was launched in 1992, meaning it lasted more than triple its design life of 7.5 years. ( more)
Test results from the long-running Adjacent Band Compatibility (ABC) Assessment show interference from wireless signals in nearby bands could negatively impact GPS receivers kilometers away from Long-Term Evolution (LTE) ground stations and render some more closely located GPS receivers useless.  ( more)
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