Pentagon pulls GPS programme

The Pentagon has canceled the long-delayed ground system meant to run newer GPS satellites, after deciding it carried too much risk to today’s network. (spaceforce.mil) The program, called the Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, was supposed to replace the Air Force’s Architecture Evolution Plan and the Launch, Anomaly and Disposal Operations system that help command the Global Positioning System constellation. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey terminated the contract on April 17, and the Space Force announced the decision on April 20 and 21. (spaceforce.mil) (airandspaceforces.com) Raytheon, now RTX, won the OCX contract in 2010 with a planned 2016 delivery and a $3.7 billion price tag. Ars Technica reported projected completion costs had climbed to nearly $8 billion, while Air & Space Forces Magazine reported the contract value at $6.27 billion when the Pentagon ended it. (arstechnica.com) (airandspaceforces.com) GPS satellites are the clocks in space; the ground system is the control room that uploads commands, monitors health, and turns on newer military signals. The Space Force said OCX could not deliver those capabilities “on an operationally relevant timeline” and at an acceptable level of risk for the constellation modernization effort. (spaceforce.mil) The concern was not only delay but interference with the system already in use. Ars Technica reported Space Force officials concluded OCX’s architecture risked disrupting the legacy GPS control network that still operates the constellation. (arstechnica.com) At the same time, the Space Force shifted the GPS III-8 launch from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Space Systems Command said in March the switch was made while the investigation into a Vulcan anomaly continued, and said the change was meant to preserve the GPS III delivery timeline. (ssc.spaceforce.mil) That launch happened early Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Orlando Sentinel reported a Falcon 9 lifted off at 2:53 a.m. carrying the GPS III-8 satellite to medium Earth orbit after the Space Force again turned to SpaceX for a national security mission. (orlandosentinel.com) (yahoo.com) United Launch Alliance had been assigned GPS III-8 under the National Security Space Launch program, but Vulcan’s schedule has been under pressure since a booster anomaly on a certification flight in 2024. Space Systems Command did not cancel the mission; it reassigned the launcher to avoid holding up a satellite the military considers operationally important. (ssc.spaceforce.mil) (orlandosentinel.com) RTX said in a statement reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine that it was “disappointed” by the termination and said it had delivered capabilities and remained committed to supporting national security space missions. The Space Force has not announced a replacement architecture, but said it will keep modernizing GPS command and control with lower-risk options. (airandspaceforces.com) (spaceforce.mil) The two decisions landed within days of each other: one program stopped after 15 years of overruns, one satellite sent up on a different rocket to stay on schedule. Together they leave the Pentagon flying new GPS hardware while it rethinks the software and ground network meant to run it. (arstechnica.com) (ssc.spaceforce.mil) (spaceforce.mil)