Lockheed Martin [LMT] plans to receive the first Global Positioning System III (GPS III) satellite’s navigation payload this spring from payload developer Exelis [XLS] after originally forecasting delivery for early 2014.
Lockheed Martin spokesman Chip Eschenfelder said Friday in an e-mail that navigation payload delivery delays have been driven by first time development and integration issues, including design changes to eliminate signal crosstalk, or interference.
Eschenfelder said Lockheed Martin and Exelis are taking every step necessary to execute successfully and are rigorously testing the navigation payload to ensure the quality of the first GPS III satellite’s design. The payload hardware for GPS III-1, Eschenfelder said, is built and in testing.
Once the payload is delivered, Eschenfelder said, Lockheed Martin will be ready to integrate the payload with the first GPS III satellite and complete single line flow testing, including full environmental testing of the integrated space vehicle. Lockheed Martin has already successfully demonstrated all phases of space vehicle integration and test prior to executing those activities on the first spacecraft thanks to the GPS III prototype, formally known as the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST), Eschenfelder said.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) spokeswoman Jessica Rye said Friday the company is under contract for a GPS III-1 launch for fourth quarter 2015, but this is contingent on satellite availability and Air Force mission prioritization. The launch would take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a Delta IV, Rye said. Exelis said in September payload delivery would be delayed until early 2014 from its originally scheduled late 2013 delivery goal.
Lockheed Martin told Defense Daily in 2012 GPS III-1 would be delivered to the Air Force by May (Defense Daily, June 5, 2012). Neither Lockheed Martin nor the Air Force responded to inquires Friday regarding whether this delivery date was still accurate.
The GNST communicated with Raytheon’s GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX) for the first time in August during a series of pre-flight tests, a milestone for the program. Lockheed Martin is currently under contract for the first six GPS III satellites and has received advanced procurement funding for long lead components for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth satellites. On December 13, the Pentagon announced a $201 million contract modification to Lockheed Martin for space vehicles five and six. GPS III, an Air Force program, will be a next-generation precision, navigation and timing (PNT) constellation replacing aging GPS satellites in orbit, improving capability to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users.
ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA].