CAPE CANAVERAL AFS, Fla.--The third of 12 Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellites Boeing [BA] is developing for the Air Force is ready to be launched this morning at 8:10 a.m. EST after completing final checkout for launch.
SVN-65 is scheduled to lift off here aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV launch vehicle. This third GPS satellite recently successfully completed its final checkout in preparation for launch.
SVN-65 was shipped to Cape Canaveral July 9 from El Segundo, Calif., aboard a Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III military transport jet. The satellite has undergone a series of prelaunch tests that validated its operational readiness, including its ability to communicate with the launch site and the Boeing-built Operational Control Segment.
Of the remaining nine GPS IIF satellites, three are completed and ready to be scheduled for launch as needed, while another six are in production, according to a statement.
GPS is a global utility providing highly accurate position, navigation and timing services 24 hours a day in all weather conditions to billions of people around the world. The GPS IIF satellites are sustaining and modernizing the network with a number of enhancements, including greater accuracy through improved atomic clock technology, a more jam-resistant military signal and a protected, and more powerful, protected civilian L5 signal to aid commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications. The satellites also feature a 12-year design life for long-term service and reduced operating costs, according to a Boeing statement.
“Boeing has worked alongside the Air Force for many years to continuously sustain and improve the GPS constellation,” Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing space and intelligence systems, said. “This new fleet of 12 GPS IIF satellites will form the core of the GPS constellation for the next decade.”
Boeing completed the fifth GPS IIF satellite in June, according to the company statement. Of the five completed, two are on orbit as part of the 31-satellite constellation.
The company is using a pulse-line manufacturing approach for GPS IIF, enabling it to produce six satellites per year, its highest production rate in company history. Pulse-line manufacturing entails a total of 13 production positions divided among four primary work centers: vehicle assembly, initial systems and mechanical testing, environmental testing, and a final test. According to a Boeing spokeswoman, a “pulse” occurs when the vehicle moves to the next work center with each pulse about two months in duration, giving the company latitude to make adjustments, if necessary (Defense Daily, Feb. 2).
ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin [LMT].