Galileo navigation satellites five and six ready for launch

The 12th Soyuz rocket to be launched from French Guiana is now in the launch zone following rollout in preparation for liftoff to place two more European Galileo navigation satellites in orbit.

The fifth and sixth Full Operational Capability (FOC) spacecraft in Europe’s Galileo navigation program, designated “Alba” and “Oriana,” will ride into orbit during the mission known as Flight VS12.

These satellites were built by OHB System, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. supplying their navigation payloads.

The European Commission is managing and funding Galileo’s FOC phase – during which the network’s complete operational and ground infrastructure is being deployed. The European Space Agency has been delegated as the design and procurement agent on the Commission’s behalf.

Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. It is interoperable with the Global Positioning System and Glonass, the U.S. and Russian global satellite navigation systems.

GPS, a large unaddressed critical infrastructure problem

If the complex satellite system that supports our country's global positioning system ever goes down, there's no backup. Cell phones, navigation systems, timing services and even critical defense programs are at risk.

Industry leaders from Google, Exelis, UrsaNav and other companies that depend on disaster-proof location and timing services are meeting at the annual Resilient Navigation and Timing (RNT) Foundation's dinner at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC on April 8.

The dinner's keynote speaker is Google's Vint Cerf, the "father of the Internet.” Terry Halvorsen, the CIO for the Department of Defense will also be speaking.

"The need for a difficult-to-disrupt system to complement the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been well known for years,” says RNT Foundation President Dana Goward. “GPS is exceptionally accurate and dependable, yet jamming, spoofing, cyber attacks and other forms of interference appear to be growing in frequency and severity. This has the potential for devastating effects on our lives and economic activity.”

In the meantime, the U.S. Air Force is prepared the ninth Global Positioning System (GPS) 2F satellite for launch on March 25 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

GPS satellite operating properly after launch

A Boeing-built Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite, launched Friday, has sent the signals to controllers that confirm it is currently operating properly within the constellation that millions of people rely on for timing and navigation information.

GPS IIF-7 was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas-5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It is the seventh of 12 such satellites Boeing has built for the U.S. Air Force, and the third on-orbit delivery this year.

Boeing and the Air Force will complete the full on-orbit checkout of the satellite next month. The GPS IIFs offer improved signal accuracy, better anti-jamming capability, longer design life and the new civilian L5 signal.

Created by the Department of Defense to enhance U.S. military warfighting capability, GPS is available for use, free of charge, to anyone with a GPS receiver. U.S. and allied military forces use GPS devices in virtually every system to improve their capabilities and effectiveness. From finance to farming to tracking packages, use by the civilian community continues to grow rapidly and new commercial applications are continuously being developed.

GPS IIF-7, launched Friday, is the seventh in a series of next-generation GPS satellites and will join a worldwide timing and navigation system utilizing satellites positioned in orbit above the Earth's surface. The sixth GPS IIF was launched May 16. GPS IIF-8, slated for launch during the fourth quarter, arrived at Cape Canaveral on July 16 to undergo final launch preparations.