Raytheon [RTN] in February successfully completed the second launch readiness exercise for the launch and checkout system (LCS) of the Air Force’s next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite operational control system (OCX), according to a company statement.
Completion of Exercise 2 is a key milestone demonstrating that Raytheon’s OCX software meets mission requirements and is on track to support the first GPS III satellite launch scheduled for 2015.
Completed over a three-day period in late February, the joint industry and government exercise demonstrated OCX mission software capability. The exercise, building on the functionality tested in the first exercise, simulated a liquid apogee engine burn to insert the GPS III vehicle into transfer orbit and evaluate vehicle telemetry, maneuver planning and execution.
Raytheon GPS OCX Program Manager Ray Kolibaba said Monday there are five total exercises for LCS. The next exercise, Exercise 3, is scheduled for July 29-Aug. 2 and will focus on an extension of the activities performed in Exercise 2, including first acquisition commanding and telemetry verification, transfer orbit configurations and a second liquid apogee burn, Kolibaba said. Raytheon will also perform additional troubleshooting and resolving space and ground anomalies.
Kolibaba said Exercise 4 is tentatively planned for April 2014 while Exercise 5 is tentatively scheduled for September 2014. Kolibaba said Exercise 5 is planned to occur when the final shipped hardware and baseline arrive at Schriever AFB, Colo., with operators located in Newtown, Pa. Exercise 1 took place in August. Kolibaba said following the exercises there are five rehearsals leading up to the first GPS III satellite launch.
Raytheon simulated the LAE burn by using Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Exercise Rehearsal Training Tool (ERTT), which connected to LCS and simulated the GPS III vehicle. Commands were sent from LCS to the ERTT, whose operator verified that it fired the LAE as specified in the ground commands and that the simulated orbit reflected the changes in velocity that were a result of the engine burn.
The Lockheed Martin-built GPS III satellites and Raytheon’s OCX are critical elements of the Air Force’s plan to affordably replace aging GPS satellites while improving capabilities to meet evolving demands.