Boeing [BA] recently announced that the second of 12 GPS IIF satellites the company is building for the Air Force has achieved operational acceptance and entered service.
According to a company statement, the second satellite, called SVN-63, is the newest to join the active 31-satellite GPS constellation operated by the Air Force 50th Space Wing and the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.
SVN-63 was launched on July 16 on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Controllers confirmed initial contact with the spacecraft at a ground station on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. GPS signals from the spacecraft payload will be tested in the coming days, the company said in a statement. ULA is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing (Defense Daily July, 20).
“The Air Force and allied military forces around the world use GPS devices in virtually every system to improve their capabilities and effectiveness while reducing risk to the warfighter,” said Air Force Col. Bernard Gruber, director of the GPS Directorate. “This next-generation GPS IIF satellite has been set healthy and is ready to begin providing a strong, clear and secure signal.”
Boeing is responsible for the GPS ground and space segments, providing an integrated system solution for GPS IIF and for the operation of the entire constellation. GPS IIF will form the core of the GPS constellation for the next decade or longer, the company added.
Boeing is building 10 additional GPS IIF satellites with the pulse line at its Satellite Development Center in El Segundo. The IIF pulse line efficiently moves a satellite from one work area to the next in a steady rhythm. Adapted from Boeing commercial airplane manufacturing operations, the pulse line will enable Boeing to deliver the spacecraft faster, more efficiently and with higher quality. Launch of the third GPS IIF satellite will be determined by the Air Force in the coming months.