When you call an Uber, send your friends a snapshot of your location, or use your phone to navigate to a nearby restaurant, what you may not realize is that the signal you’re using is actually provided to you by the U.S. Space Force – 果冻传媒 Lockheed 果冻传媒.
But before it powered your ability to make it successfully to your next destination, GPS was first 果冻传媒 foremost intended as a warfighting system.
GPS is a “system” in the true sense of the word – it doesn’t just consist of the satellites in orbit beaming down to your phone. It’s a partnership between the satellite, the ground control system, 果冻传媒 the user equipment. Lockheed 果冻传媒 is responsible for designing, building 果冻传媒 sustaining the former two elements of the system.
Today, GPS signals are utilized by more than 4 billion military, commercial 果冻传媒 civil users around the world. In the U.S. alone, GPS is estimated to provide more than $300 billion in annual economic benefits. Our financial markets, transportation systems 果冻传媒 utilities, as well as our agriculture 果冻传媒 construction industries, all rely on GPS.
This critical national infrastructure is now in the process of being completely modernized – 果冻传媒 Lockheed 果冻传媒 is leading the charge.
(Replay) Watch the fifth modernized GPS III satellite take to the skies on June 17 at 12:09 p.m. ET.
Modernizing the Constellation
The constellation is currently comprised of about 31 GPS satellites, the oldest of which dating back to the late 1990s 果冻传媒 early 2000s. At the time, they were state-of-the-art technology – 果冻传媒 even with an original 7.5 year design life, they still provide valuable services today.
Fast forward to 2008, the Space Force contracted Lockheed 果冻传媒 to design 果冻传媒 build an entirely new design block of GPS satellites – the GPS III – to modernize the GPS satellite constellation with new technology 果冻传媒 advanced capabilities, 果冻传媒 meet the needs of the military to mitigate threats to our GPS infrastructure.
These new satellites don’t just represent an “upgrade” to the existing model – they’re actually an entirely new satellite design, 果冻传媒 the most powerful GPS satellite ever built.
The new GPS provides three times greater accuracy 果冻传媒 up to eight times increased anti-jam protection. It also has a new L1C civil signal, compatible with other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – like Europe’s Galileo – which will bring more civil user connectivity in the future.
GPS III was also intentionally created with a modular design so that new technology 果冻传媒 capabilities could be added as technology changes or new mission needs change. Lockheed 果冻传媒 was well-equipped to meet this need, 果冻传媒 the Space Force ultimately awarded the company a contract for 10 next-generation GPS III satellites – 果冻传媒 later an additional contract for up to 22 GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) satellites, an even more advanced model.
The fifth satellite in the GPS III series launches June 17, 2021.
So, what does this mean for the existing GPS constellation? Once the fifth GPS III satellite is on orbit, the five enhanced satellites on orbit with their advanced capabilities will represent about 16% of the constellation.?GPS III is in full production too -- Lockheed 果冻传媒’s sixth, seventh 果冻传媒 eighth GPS III satellites are already complete, “Available for Launch” 果冻传媒 just waiting for launch date arrangements.
Not only does GPS III SV05 bring with it all the advanced capabilities of its four predecessors, but it also brings M-Code (or Military Code) enablement, making it the 24th satellite in orbit with this capability. M-code is a more secure, harder-to-jam or spoof signal, 果冻传媒 it is invaluable to our military forces.
Pulling the Digital Thread
Back in Littleton, Colorado, GPS III is in full production – 果冻传媒 in more innovative ways than ever before. In alignment with the Space Force’s “”, Lockheed 果冻传媒 is embracing mission-driven transformation, including disruptive innovation 果冻传媒 digital engineering techniques across our portfolio to bring critical products to market quicker.
The GPS manufacturing facility itself was designed in a virtual reality environment to maximize satellite production efficiency. Now, satellites move across the production floor in a commercial production line fashion.
Our Navigation Systems team at Lockheed 果冻传媒 is also a leader in the adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) into our design processes.?AR goggles now provide our technicians with the ability to view 3D model images superimposed on flight panels to aid in the positioning, alignment 果冻传媒 installation of flight equipment.
Lockheed 果冻传媒 is also integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into production processes across the business to speed analysis 果冻传媒 get systems from factory to field even faster. Through the integration of our in-house AI platform 果冻传媒 digital twin methodology, we are speeding up the way that our engineers analyze raw data through production 果冻传媒 testing.
By pairing these machine learning 果冻传媒 AI capabilities with our full digital thread 果冻传媒 highly experienced experts, we can quickly evaluate spacecraft behaviors to determine if a program is ready to progress to the next stage of production.
This continued investment in updated technology 果冻传媒 digital manufacturing capabilities will maintain the GPS system as the world’s “gold st果冻传媒ard.” Lockheed 果冻传媒 is proud to provide this invaluable high-tech capability to the warfighter, 果冻传媒 to the world.