GPS III
The Next Generation Global Positioning System
GPS III
The world depends on GPS. With GPS – the military
is safer, first responders are faster, industry is more
productive and everyday living is simply easier. But as
GPS becomes increasingly critical to our way of life, the
demand is accelerating.
To meet the needs of more than one billion GPS users
worldwide, the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin are
developing the next generation system, known as GPS
III. GPS III will improve position, navigation and timing
services and provide advanced anti-jam capabilities
yielding superior system security, accuracy and
reliability. The first GPS III satellites will deliver signals
three times more accurate than current GPS spacecraft
and provide three times more power for military users,
while also enhancing the spacecraft’s design life and
adding a new civil signal designed to be interoperable
with international global navigation satellite systems.
GPS IIA, GPSIIR
IIR
Basic GPS
• Standard Positioning Service
– Single Frequency (L1)
– Coarse Acquisition (C/A) Code Navigation
• Precise Positioning Service
– Y-Code (L1Y & L2Y)
– Y-Code Navigation
GPS III Specification
Customer Mission Orbit
Altitude
Design life
Launch weight On-orbit weight Size Position accuracy
U.S. Air Force Space and
Missile Systems Center
Highly accurate 3-D position,
velocity and precise time
Six orbit planes at 55° inclination
10,898 nautical miles
15 years; 13-year MMD
8,553 lb
5,003 lb
97 in wide, 70 in deep, 134 in high
Under one meter, with daily updates from the control segment
Electrical Power System
Solar array
Battery system Electronics
307 ft2; high-efficiency UTJ cells;
4,480-W EOL capability
Nickel hydrogen (NiH2); rechargeable
Central controller with redundant
discharge converters, battery chargers
Attitude Determination and Control
Design approach Attitude reference
Zero momentum, 3-axis stabilized,
Earth-oriented, Sun-Nadir pointing
Static Earth sensor, Sun sensor,
control reaction wheels/magnetic torquers
Propulsion Subsystem
Design approach Propellant capacity
Thrusters GPS IIR-M, GPS IIF
Bipropellant; Hydrazine, NTO oxidizer
5180 lbm
100-lb Liquid Apogee Engine,
twelve 0.2-lb REAs, six 5-lb REAs
GPS III
IIR-M
IIR-M: IIA/IIR
Capabilities Plus
• 2nd Civil Signal (L2C)
• M-Code (L1M & L2M)
• Anti-jam Flex Power
IIF: IIR-M
Capabilities Plus
• 3rd Civil Signal (L5)
• 12 Year Design Life
• Backward Compatibility
• Increased Accuracy
• Increased M-Code Signal Strength
– Improved Anti-jam Power
• Increased Earth Coverage
• Increased Security
• Assured Availability
• System Survivability
• 4th Civil Signal (L1C)
• 15 Year Design Life
• Bus Flexibility for Future Capability Insertion
Structural and Thermal
Modular design Passive thermal Four aluminum honeycomb panels mounted to a central composite core
Heat pipes in equipment panels, control blankets, thermal coatings, radiators and electrically controlled heaters
Navigation Payload
Timekeeping Mission data unit
Crosslink transponder New GPS III signal Enhanced performance for increased
subsystem accuracy; improved anomaly
resolution; includes multiple atomic
frequency standards (Rubidium clocks),
radiation-hardened design, high stability
timing, automated integrity monitoring
Rad-Hard processor; expanded waveform
generation, full message encoding and
processing; real-time Kalman filter
Legacy UHF receive and transmit,
precision intersatellite ranging, full-frame
modulation and mode control
L1C (p,d); programmable waveform
generation
Tracking, Telemetry and Command
Space vehicle computer
Autonomy Security architecture RF links
Rad-Hard processor; command and
telemetry processing, Bus functions,
payload accommodation
Redundancy management for on-board
power and Bus components
Encrypted data links using redundant
cryptographic units, centralized command
decoding, flexible telemetry communications
S-Band, SGLS/USB Transponder
Learn more at www.lockheedmartin.com/gps
Contact Information
Business Development: John Voce – john.e.voce@lmco.com – 215.497.2022
Media Relations: Chip Eschenfelder – chip.eschenfelder@lmco.com – 303.977.8375
© 2014 Lockheed Martin Corporation
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