Getting your player ready...
The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $21.5 million contract to provide launch and checkout capability to command and control all GPS III satellites from launch through early on-orbit testing.
The work, to be integrated into the Next Generation Operational Control System developed by Raytheon in Aurora, will ensure launch availability for the first GPS III satellite in 2014.
Lockheed is gearing up to potentially produce 32 GPS III satellites for the Air Force at its Waterton Canyon facility in Jefferson County. It currently has a $1.5 billion contract with the Air Force to build and test the prototype and the first two satellites.
