Air Force Space Command Committed to GPS Health
http://sidt.gpsworld.com/gpssidt/con....jsp?id=599356

May 21, 2009
GPS World

The U.S Air Force and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) have been the diligent stewards of
GPS since its conception in the 1970s and continue its commitment to this critical
component of our National Infrastructure, stated the agencies today in a press release
from Peterson Air Force Base.

“I have high confidence we will continue to sustain at least the 24 satellites required to
maintain our current performance standard,� said Gen. C. Robert Kehler, AFSPC commander.

The current GPS constellation has 30 operational satellites, the most satellites and the
greatest capability in history.

“We are committed to maintaining our current level of service, while striving to increase
and improve service and capability through on-going modernization efforts,� said Lt. Gen.
Tom Sheridan, Commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, the acquisitions arm for
AFSPC. “The Air Force will continue to execute an achievable growth path maintaining GPS
as the premier provider of positioning, navigation and timing for the military and
civilian users around the world.�

Just as it was reported in the Government Accountability Office’s report May 7, AFSPC
acknowledged the potential for an availability gap years ago, and has actively pursued and
institutionalized procedures and processes to mitigate the potential gap or minimize any
impact. The command said it has developed key processes within the operational community
as well as the acquisition community to extend the life of on-orbit assets and to ensure
GPS capability is delivered in a timely manner.

The Air Force launched the seventh of its current block of IIR-M satellites in April, and
will launch another one this fall followed by the first of 12 Block IIF satellites in
early Fiscal 2010. The IIF's sophisticated L-band payload will include new hardware that
serves the civil user community. The next generation of GPS satellites, the GPS IIIA, with
additional navigation signals for both civilian and military users will improve the
accuracy and availability for all users. GPS IIIA is scheduled for first launch in 2014.

“New acquisition approaches, including phased acquisition and prototyping, will reduce
risk to constellation sustainment in the future,� said General Sheridan.

“Let me state emphatically — since we declared Full Operational Capability in 1995, the
Air Force has maintained the constellation above the required 24 GPS satellites on orbit
at 95 percent. In fact, we have achieved sub-three meter accuracy,� said General Kehler.
“The Air Force has been a good GPS steward continually providing ‘better than expected’
service to our GPS users. At this point, we foresee no significant loss of service in the
future, near or far.�