OCS upgrade this month
- From: Jon <jon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2007 18:33:11 -0700
Force-Anticipates-Invisible-GPS-Ground-Control/ArticleStandard/Article/From <http://mg.gpsworld.com/gpsmg/Military+%26+Government+News/Air-
detail/450006?contextCategoryId=33824>:
Air Force Anticipates Invisible GPS Ground Control Transition
Aug 15, 2007
GPS World
Come September, when the Air Force and its civilian contractors switch
GPS ground control from an aging mainframe computer system to a modern
server-based architecture with room for the system to grow and
upgrade, it should be a seamless transition, Air Force officials said
today.
The U.S. Air Force, which oversees the GPS satellite constellation and
its operation, today formally discussed the Architecture Evolution
Plan (AEP) to upgrade the system's ground control system, some of
which dates back to the 1970s and the beginning of GPS. Sometime
during September-for security reasons, the Air Force isn't being more
specific-over the course of several days, it will bring the new ground
control system online and migrate control of the GPS satellites in
orbit to it, and away from the old mainframe system.
Personnel involved in the transition have gone through a number of
tests and dress rehearsals for the transition, and are confident that
users of GPS, both civil and military, will not notice the transition.
In fact, in the event there is a problem with the new system, the Air
Force says it can go back to the old system. Part of the AEP's
implementation involves synchronizing the two systems' reception of
satellites' timing and navigation signals, to not only make the
transition invisible, but to enable the reversion to the old system if
necessary.
"At each step of the transition, we know we always have the ability to
move back to a previous configuration," said Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel.
Hamel is commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los
Angeles Air Force Base, of which the GPS Wing is a part. He said the
Air Force is applying the same kind of rigorous mission assurance that
it puts into its space launches to the AEP transition. "If at any
point we should run into any kind of a problem, we have the ability to
transition back to the legacy system."
That is not meant to imply, however, that the transition is a simple
one. Noting that GPS is always in constant operation and use around
the world, Hamel likened the AEP to "changing the engine on a car
that's traveling down the highway at 65 miles an hour."
Work under the AEP has actually been taking place for longer than a
year now, explained Col Vance. In that time there has been
significant testing of the new ground control system to ensure it will
work as planned, including three rehearsals of the actual transition.
Some 90 percent of what will take place during the actual transition
has already been done for real, Vance said.
That has included uploads of software to several existing GPS
satellites, and there have been no adverse reports as a result of
those uploads and tests, he noted. In terms of the satellites, during
the transition four of the current GPS satellites will be brought
online with the new AEP software; if that transition goes well the
rest of the constellation will be brought online with the new system
over a matter of several hours, Vance explained, stressing again that
from the vantage point of a user on the ground, the changeover should
be invisible.
Timing is Everything
Why now? The reasoning is two-fold: First off, the first spacecraft in
the latest series of GPS satellites, dubbed IIF, is slated for launch
sometime in the second half of next year, and the upgrades on the
ground are necessary to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of
this latest class of satellites. Second of all, as Hamel explained,
was that in terms of its operation, the global positioning system has
proved so successful that the Air Force has meticulously avoided
making significant changes to the system.
As one Air Force official who is involved with the day-to-day
operations of the GPS ground control station put it, monitoring the
system today still involves looking at dials and gauges and turning
knobs.
As GPS satellite technology has improved over the years, however, the
ground control system has been tasked with being interoperable with
all generations of spacecraft. While the Air Force hasn't wanted to
mess with the system's performance, with this latest series of
satellites being prepared for launch and GPS III satellites coming
within the next decade, it has become necessary for an upgrade to
ground control to take advantage of the signal and navigation
improvements offered by modern satellites, Hamel said.
Col. David Madden, commander of the GPS Wing, confirmed that with the
AEP's new ground control system in place, it would be able to
accommodate additional satellites beyond the current 31 in the GPS
constellation (next year's launch of the first IIF satellite would
make 32), and perhaps as many as 60 at some point in the future. While
the AEP "lays the foundation" for future growth of the GPS
constellation, Air Force officials didn't address specifics, however.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: OCS upgraded this month
- From: Jon
- Re: OCS upgraded this month
- Prev by Date: Re: GPS and is your teenager speeding
- Next by Date: Re: Where is the equator?
- Previous by thread: Where is the equator?
- Next by thread: Re: OCS upgraded this month
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
