Latest news with #DeLaPena
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Launch delays hamper near-term impact of GPS experimentation program
The Space Force is looking for ways to experiment with new technologies on its next-generation GPS satellites, but persistent delays to a key demonstration program could limit its options. The service planned to launch the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 demonstration, dubbed NTS-3, in 2022 with an eye toward experimenting with new positioning, navigation and timing signals and payloads that could be installed on future GPS satellites and shape its long-term plans for the constellation. The satellite's development, led by the Air Force Research Lab and L3Harris, has proceeded on schedule, but delays to the rocket assigned to fly the spacecraft — United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur — have stalled the program for years. The mission is slated to fly on Vulcan's first national security launch this year, but those plans are on hold as the company awaits final certification from the Space Force. Cordell DeLaPena, who oversees the Space Systems Center's positioning, navigation and timing and satellite communications portfolios, said the service is weighing its options for how to proceed with integrating NTS-3 technology into upcoming GPS production lines. 'The longer it takes to actually launch those experiments, get the data and be able to assess it, the window starts to close on the availability of production vehicles,' he told Defense News in an interview. The Space Force had intended to funnel NTS-3-proven capabilities into the production line for its latest variant of GPS satellites, dubbed GPS IIIF. The service plans to buy 20 of these satellites from Lockheed Martin and, to date, has ordered 10. The first five of those spacecraft are slated for deliveries over a five-year period beginning in 2027. ULA's new rocket won't fly its first Space Force missions until 2025 DeLaPena said GPS IIIF is approaching the end of its design period and will soon shift toward production. There's still room on the satellite for additional size, weight and power — or SWAP — which means the program could still make changes to incorporate NTS-3 technology. But the clock is ticking, he said. 'If there are a handful of these experiments that launch and prove themselves out on orbit and if they're mature enough to start considering maturing those concepts for production, that would be the path,' DeLaPena said. If the the Space Force misses its window to install NTS-3 technology on the first five GPS IIIF satellites, the service could aim to include any relevant technology either on its next batch of five spacecraft or as part of other PNT programs, DeLaPena said. That includes a program called Resilient GPS, which is meant to augment the larger constellation with a fleet of small, lightweight, lower-cost satellites. The Space Force's NTS-3 demonstration and its plans for Resilient GPS, or R-GPS, are part of a broader rethinking of its approach to providing navigation and timing capabilities. One piece of that involves the orbit in which satellites reside. The military has traditionally launched its GPS satellites to medium Earth orbit, and that's where R-GPS will operate. However, the service is considering a multi-orbit approach for its future PNT capabilities. Along those lines, NTS-3 is destined for geosynchronous orbit, and the Space Development Agency plans to launch PNT satellites to low Earth orbit as part of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. DeLaPena noted that demonstrating a 'blended,' multi-orbit navigation capability is a primary goal for NTS-3, adding that countries like Japan, South Korea and India are all exploring GEO-based systems. The Space Force is in the midst of an analysis of alternatives that will further define a roadmap for the service's future mix of PNT capabilities. The need for an R-GPS capability was an outgrowth of that study, which should be completed this summer, DeLaPena said.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Force bumps Astrion from Resilient GPS program
The Space Force has canceled its contract with one of the four companies developing designs for its Resilient GPS program following an initial design review, Defense News has learned. Last September, the service's acquisition arm, Space Systems Command, awarded L3Harris, Sierra Space, Astranis and Axient — which has since been acquired by Astrion — each $10 million contracts to draft early concepts for a constellation of small, low-cost, resilient GPS satellites. In December and January, after early design reviews with each firm, SSC opted to 'discontinue' Astrion's contract, according to Cordell DeLaPena, program executive officer for military communications and positioning, navigation and timing. 'There was one vendor that wasn't quite at the level of maturity, so we discontinued that vendor and we're going to harvest the remaining dollars and invest those in the three remaining vendors,' DeLaPena told Defense News in an interview Thursday. Astrion declined to comment on the Space Force's decision. SSC is still negotiating the terms of the contract cancellation, so it's not clear how much funding will be redistributed among the remaining vendors, DeLaPena said. With four companies, the service was able to fund the first six months of the effort, known as R-GPS. The hope is that the additional money will be enough to get the remaining three firms through the program's first phase, he said, which will culminate this spring with a final design review and demonstration. After the demonstration, the service plans to choose at least two companies to finalize their designs and build prototypes over the program's next phase. It will then pick one or more firms to build the first eight satellites, which it wants ready for launch by 2028. R-GPS is expected to cost $1 billion over the next five years. At around $50 to $80 million each, the satellites are projected to cost a fraction of the $250 million the service is spending for just one Lockheed Martin-built GPS IIIF satellite. The lower unit cost and smaller size means the individual spacecraft have less capability than the legacy alternative. But when flying together as a constellation of dozens of satellites, they'll augment those more exquisite spacecraft with a backup capability that, in theory, is harder for enemies to target. R-GPS satellites will have a range of civil signals as well as M-code, a more secure military signal with anti-jam capabilities. The program was funded with a new Pentagon budget authority called quick start, provided in the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act and championed by former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. The authority — created out of a recognition that it can take more than two years for a new program to get funded through the Defense Department's budget process — allows the DOD to shift a total of $100 million annually from the services' budgets to begin development on new programs. R-GPS received $40 million through quick start and requested Congress realign another $77 million in fiscal 2025 for the program. Lawmakers pushed back on the request, citing concerns about whether the effort would have a real impact on GPS resiliency and questioning the Space Force's plans for fielding ground terminals. DeLaPena said SSC has made some progress in those discussions, and he's hopeful Congress will approve its fiscal 2025 request. 'From my perspective, we've answered all the questions, all the requests for information, that have come down on the space side,' he said. 'As of right now, we're just waiting to see what the final decision is.'
