The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $21.5 million contract to supply the capability to command and control future Global Positioning System Block III satellites from launch through their early on-orbit testing, announced the company Wednesday. The Launch and Checkout Capability will be integrated with the Raytheon-developed Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, for the GPS constellation, said Lockheed. LCC will include trained satellite operators and engineering solutions to support launch, early orbit operations, and checkout of all GPS III satellites before Air Force Space Command assumes responsibility for their operations. The command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation in support of both military and civil users. First launch of a GPS III satellite is scheduled for 2014.
The Royal International Air Tattoo, one of the world’s biggest annual air shows, will permanently move from its longtime home of RAF Fairford, a longtime base for the U.S. Air Force, to a different military installation in the United Kingdom, its organizers announced Nov. 4.