12/13/11. Employees at aerospace firm Lockheed Martin in Colorado will begin testing a prototype satellite for what is expected to be the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the future.
The aircraft arrived Monday at the Waterton Canyon complex south of Denver. Workers will perform the final assembly of the prototype and then subject it to various tests, including extreme temperatures to mimic in-orbit conditions and measurements to see if radio satellite frequencies interfere with each other.
The prototype will not be launched into space, but it is the guinea pig for the new generation of GPS satellites, called Block III, which seeks to make civilian and military receivers more accurate, powerful and reliable.
The first launch satellite is expected to arrive in Waterton Canyon in the third quarter of 2012 and be launched in May 2014.
Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Maryland, has a $1.5 billion contract with the U.S. Air Force to build and test prototypes of the so-called GPS III system, as well as to build the first two satellites for launch. The contract includes an option to build two others.
The Pentagon expects to pay for and commission a total of 32 satellites for Block III. The Air Force says it will cost about $5.5 billion to design, build and commission all the satellites and improve ground control systems.
The Block III satellite project seeks to allow civilian and military users to determine their position with a margin of error of just one meter (three feet), compared to three meters (10 feet) in the current system, according to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.
Source: milenio.com
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