Andrew Yee[_1_]
September 29th 06, 01:44 AM
US Air Force Space Command
9/26/2006
1st SOPS takes over 2nd GPS IIR-M satellite
By Staff Sgt. Don Branum, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A team of Airmen, civil servants and
contractors with the 1st Space Operations Squadron here assumed launch and
early orbit responsibilities for Global Positioning System IIR-M 15 shortly
after it lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Sept. 25.
The satellite's journey of 11,000 miles began with a spark as its Delta II
rocket lifted off at 12:50 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time [1950 UTC], a year to
the day after the launch of GPS IIR-M 14 in 2005.
Technicians at the Range Operations Control Center at Cape Canaveral could
hear the rocket thundering toward orbit from their vantage point two miles
away.
"We can hear it outside, guys ... we can hear it from inside the ROCC," said
Karen Gauthier, the operations manager at Lockheed Martin's Valley Forge,
Pa., facility. She and technical support teams from the Valley Forge
facility were on the phone and collecting telemetry from Cape Canaveral.
GPS IIR-M 15 will provide two military signal bands and two civil bands. Its
signal strength is two to four times more powerful than GPS Block II
satellites launched less than 10 years ago, making the satellite more
resistant to jamming, said Willard Marquis, a staff engineer with Lockheed
Martin.
"People with GPS receivers don't get a signal strength, but they know
whether the signal is corrupted," Mr. Marquis explained. "You're more likely
to get a signal from a Block IIR-M satellite near the horizon or in woods
than you'd be with earlier satellites."
The military bands on GPS IIR-M 14 and 15 are currently in use for
development purposes -- they broadcast a signal, but for the moment, the
signal does not carry any data, Mr. Marquis said.
1st SOPS is the only squadron of its kind in Air Force Space Command. 1st
SOPS supports GPS; Midcourse Space Experiment, a NASA Research and
Development program and; working with 7 SOPS and CERES, collects booster
telemetry. They are always in control through launches, anomalies, daily
operations and satellite disposals.
"We support the 2nd Space Operations Squadron's GPS mission, and we have a
couple of GPS satellites of our own," said Lt. Col. Craig Bomberg, 1st SOPS
commander. "We took over (today) after booster separation, and we'll hand
the satellite over to 2nd SOPS next week."
The handover will occur after 1st SOPS Airmen and contractors have
maneuvered the GPS satellite into its permanent orbit -- a route that
carries it around the Earth every 12 hours.
The Air Force Satellite Control Network, operated by 22nd SOPS here, also
supported the Delta II launch through its tracking stations at Guam and
Hawaii. Satellites typically lose telemetry contact with the ground during
the turbulent launch process; the 22nd SOPS detachment at Guam Tracking
Station received a signal from the booster approximately one hour after
launch. The satellite then separated from the rocket and was acquired for
the first time approximately 15 minutes later at Kaena Point Tracking
Station, Hawaii.
GPS provides 24-hour precision navigation and timing services to civil and
military users. It provides combat capability to servicemembers overseas in
applications such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions and handheld receivers.
Civilian applications include automatic tellers and bank and stock market
transactions. GPS first became available at full capacity in April 1995.
IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.afspc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060925-F-3661B-003.jpg
(583KB)]
Matt Wentz coordinates countdown checklists inside the 1st Space Operations
Squadron's operations floor Sept. 25 as seconds tick away toward the launch
of Global Positioning System IIR-M 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Fla. GPS IIR-M satellites offer a signal strength two to four times more
powerful than their Block II predecessors. Mr. Wentz is a telemetry analyst
with Lockheed Martin. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Staff Sgt. Don
Branum)
9/26/2006
1st SOPS takes over 2nd GPS IIR-M satellite
By Staff Sgt. Don Branum, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A team of Airmen, civil servants and
contractors with the 1st Space Operations Squadron here assumed launch and
early orbit responsibilities for Global Positioning System IIR-M 15 shortly
after it lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Sept. 25.
The satellite's journey of 11,000 miles began with a spark as its Delta II
rocket lifted off at 12:50 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time [1950 UTC], a year to
the day after the launch of GPS IIR-M 14 in 2005.
Technicians at the Range Operations Control Center at Cape Canaveral could
hear the rocket thundering toward orbit from their vantage point two miles
away.
"We can hear it outside, guys ... we can hear it from inside the ROCC," said
Karen Gauthier, the operations manager at Lockheed Martin's Valley Forge,
Pa., facility. She and technical support teams from the Valley Forge
facility were on the phone and collecting telemetry from Cape Canaveral.
GPS IIR-M 15 will provide two military signal bands and two civil bands. Its
signal strength is two to four times more powerful than GPS Block II
satellites launched less than 10 years ago, making the satellite more
resistant to jamming, said Willard Marquis, a staff engineer with Lockheed
Martin.
"People with GPS receivers don't get a signal strength, but they know
whether the signal is corrupted," Mr. Marquis explained. "You're more likely
to get a signal from a Block IIR-M satellite near the horizon or in woods
than you'd be with earlier satellites."
The military bands on GPS IIR-M 14 and 15 are currently in use for
development purposes -- they broadcast a signal, but for the moment, the
signal does not carry any data, Mr. Marquis said.
1st SOPS is the only squadron of its kind in Air Force Space Command. 1st
SOPS supports GPS; Midcourse Space Experiment, a NASA Research and
Development program and; working with 7 SOPS and CERES, collects booster
telemetry. They are always in control through launches, anomalies, daily
operations and satellite disposals.
"We support the 2nd Space Operations Squadron's GPS mission, and we have a
couple of GPS satellites of our own," said Lt. Col. Craig Bomberg, 1st SOPS
commander. "We took over (today) after booster separation, and we'll hand
the satellite over to 2nd SOPS next week."
The handover will occur after 1st SOPS Airmen and contractors have
maneuvered the GPS satellite into its permanent orbit -- a route that
carries it around the Earth every 12 hours.
The Air Force Satellite Control Network, operated by 22nd SOPS here, also
supported the Delta II launch through its tracking stations at Guam and
Hawaii. Satellites typically lose telemetry contact with the ground during
the turbulent launch process; the 22nd SOPS detachment at Guam Tracking
Station received a signal from the booster approximately one hour after
launch. The satellite then separated from the rocket and was acquired for
the first time approximately 15 minutes later at Kaena Point Tracking
Station, Hawaii.
GPS provides 24-hour precision navigation and timing services to civil and
military users. It provides combat capability to servicemembers overseas in
applications such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions and handheld receivers.
Civilian applications include automatic tellers and bank and stock market
transactions. GPS first became available at full capacity in April 1995.
IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.afspc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060925-F-3661B-003.jpg
(583KB)]
Matt Wentz coordinates countdown checklists inside the 1st Space Operations
Squadron's operations floor Sept. 25 as seconds tick away toward the launch
of Global Positioning System IIR-M 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Fla. GPS IIR-M satellites offer a signal strength two to four times more
powerful than their Block II predecessors. Mr. Wentz is a telemetry analyst
with Lockheed Martin. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Staff Sgt. Don
Branum)