SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will herald a new chapter in the GPS world. Whether it is locating an unknown street on Google Maps or tracking a fleet, GPS has become a lifeline to many. About 4 billion people worldwide use this system. To further boost its accuracy, the US Air Force launched on December 23 the first of a new generation GPS III-SV01 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Designed to be more secure and versatile and built by Lockheed Martin, the GPS III satellites will supersede the existing GPS constellations.
You might wonder as to what happened to its other series. Well, you will be surprised to know that GPS III is one of its kind and has nothing to do with its numeric description. It is the third generation of GPS system that is considered the most powerful GPS satellites ever on orbit. It will have three times better accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities, and maybe that’s why the numeric III mentioned with it.
Also what makes it class apart is that GPS III will boast a 15 year design life, twice as long as some of the current GPS satellites. They can even be launched two at once, making them less expensive to launch and maintain.
GPS systems in the United States have gone through six major iterations since 1978. The latest block of satellites, called IIF, launched between 2010 and 2016. The 12 satellites are all designed to last 12 years. Some of their notable features include the ability to receive software uploads, better jamming resistance and doubling accuracy.
The GPS Block IIIA set of satellites — the seventh set of GPS satellites, and the first set of the third generation — is manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The block was originally supposed to start launching in 2014. However, technical delays pushed the first projected launch to May 2018. The series is expected to launch 10 satellites, with the last one scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.
Also Read: How location technology has changed delivery and moving services
What will GPS III do?
For the first time, the Air Force is assigning nicknames to the GPS III satellites. The first one is Vespucci, after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian navigator whose name was adopted by early mapmakers for the continents of the Western Hemisphere.
The new satellites are expected to provide location information that’s three times more accurate than the current satellites.
Current civilian GPS receivers are accurate to within 10 to 33 feet (3 to 10 meters), depending on conditions, said Glen Gibbons, the founder and former editor of Inside GNSS, a website and magazine that tracks global navigation satellite systems.
With the new satellites, civilian receivers could be accurate to within 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) under good conditions, and military receivers could be a little closer, he said.
GPS III’s new L1C civil signal also will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.
However, jamming-resistant military signal will be available until a new and complex ground control system is available, and that is not expected until 2022 or 2023, said Cristina Chaplain, who tracks GPS and other programs for the Government Accountability Office.
How expensive it is?
The US Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $1.3 billion for two GPS III satellites, according to an announcement from the Department of Defense September 26.
The price of the first 10 satellites is estimated at $577 million each, up about 6% from the original 2008 estimate when adjusted for inflation, Chaplain said.
The Air Force said in September it expects the remaining 22 satellites to cost $7.2 billion, but the GAO estimated the cost at $12 billion.
How was GPS III contract awarded?
The Air Force controls a constellation of 31 GPS satellites from a high-security complex at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs.
An interesting article by NASA says, the award for the first GPS III satellite contract traces its roots back to the day when the current Global Positioning System (GPS) reached full operational capability on 17 July 1995.
While the original GPS goals were met on that day, significant advances in technology as well as user demands on the newly-completed system resulted in an effort to modernize the GPS.
This initiative gained full support from the White House and President Bill Clinton’s Administration in 1998, which initiated the GPS III program in conjunction with the US Congress’ official authorization in 2000.
On 26 April 2016, the Air Force officially announced SpaceX’s selection to launch the second GPS III satellite.
Since then, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth GPS III satellites have undergone competitive launch bids, with SpaceX winning all of them with their Falcon 9 rocket.
Ground testing and check out for GPS III-SV01 was successfully completed throughout 2017, and refinements to the SpaceX launch manifest brought the mission’s launch into alignment for December 2018.
Also Read: Can quantum compass replace GPS?
