Lockheed Martin said April 19 it is on track for completing the critical design review for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS 3 satellites in August, two months ahead of the current schedule.
Lockheed Martin’s Newtown, Pa.-based GPS 3 team has completed 26 of 65 GPS 3 critical design reviews, including recently completed reviews for the satellite’s power regulation unit, batteries and spacecraft antenna assemblies.
By the beginning of May, the company expects to complete several more critical design reviews, including reviews of the spacecraft’s attitude control system and transmitter assemblies.
Lockheed Martin and its teammates are designing the GPS 3 satellites under a $3 billion development and production contract that calls for up to 12 satellites, the first of which is expected to launch in 2014.