Lockheed Team Activates 2nd Air Force GPS Satellite Model; Mark Stewart Comments

Lockheed Martin and partners have activated the bus and network communications payload of a second satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s GPS system.

The team worked to turn on the power of the GPS III Space Vehicle 2 on Dec. 19 at Lockheed’s Denver-based facility in order to exhibit the satellite’s mechanical integration and interfaces, Lockheed said Wednesday.

Mark Stewart, vice president for Lockheed’s navigation systems mission area, said the activation aligns the GPS III SV-02 bus with the Air Force’s first GPS III space vehicle.

The satellite features a propulsion core module for orbital maneuvering functions, Lockheed says.

GPS III satellites are built to transmit a new civil signal that is intended to work with other navigation satellite systems.

Lockheed’s GPS III team includes Exelis, General Dynamics, Infinity Systems Engineering, Honeywell and ATK.