To close out 2024, Lockheed Martin designed, manufactured, and put into orbit its seventh Global Positioning System (GPS) III space vehicle, the GPS III SV07. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and placed into orbit (see image above) 12,550 miles above the Earth.
The launch was part of Space Force’s modernization of the U.S. GPS satellite constellation. Following signal acquisition of the satellite, the vehicle is under operational control at Lockheed Martin's Denver Launch & Checkout Operations Center until it's officially accepted as part of the current 31-satellite GPS constellation.
The satellite was constructed at Lockheed Martin's Littleton, Colo., facility and moved by ground transport (over 2,300 miles) to the Florida launch site (rather than air transport) in keeping with a tight launch schedule. To demonstrate its operational agility for the sake of national security, Space Force accelerated the launch date for the satellite by about three months. GPS III satellites provide essential navigation for U.S. military forces, with as much as 8X more anti-jamming capability than GPS II space vehicles.
All GPS III satellites are equipped with M-code antijamming signal technology protection for U.S. and allied armed forces. Malik Musawwir, vice-president of Navigation Systems at Lockheed Martin, explains the significance of the secure signals developed for GPS in such a short time: “Time is of the essence for national security missions, and we quickly delivered this critical capability for the Space Force to support rapid demand for secure, advanced positioning, navigation, and timing signals.”
Musawwir went on, explaining, “We supported our customer's vision for an accelerated launch of this GPS satellite, ultimately helping them achieve quick-turn operational readiness.”
He added, “Time is of the essence for national security missions, and we quickly delivered this critical capability for the Space Force to support rapid demand for secure, advanced positioning, navigation, and timing signals.”