TMCnet News
Lockheed Martin passes flight software milestone in GPS III programmeFeb 07, 2013 (AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION via COMTEX) -- US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) said that its team developing the US Air Force's next generation Global Position System III satellites has completed a key flight software milestone validating the software's ability to provide reliable and effective command and control for the GPS III satellites planned for launch into orbit. The GPS III programme will affordably replace aging GPS satellites, while improving capability to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users, LMT said. Lockheed Martin said that GPS III satellites will deliver better accuracy and improved anti-jamming power while enhancing the spacecraft's design life and adding a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with international global navigation satellite systems. The milestone, known as Software Item Qualification Testing, was completed for the satellite's spacecraft bus flight software, which is critical to controlling the spacecraft on orbit and monitoring the health and safety of the satellite's subsystems. SIQT included 131 individual test events and represented the culmination of a rigorous software engineering risk reduction and development phase. The software will next be integrated and tested on the first GPS III satellite, which is on schedule for launch availability in 2014, the company said. Find out more at www.lockheedmartin.com/gps. Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected] |