The Air Force and Boeing have completed on-orbit check out of the seventh Global Positioning System IIF satellite, according to an Oct. 13 company release. The satellite, which launched on Aug. 1, was declared healthy in its final orbital location Sept. 17 and is providing accurate positioning, navigation, and timing data, states the release. “Handover to the 50th Space Wing is a huge milestone in a GPS satellite’s journey, confirming that it’s been put through its paces and all looks good,” said Dan Hart, vice president of Government Space Systems for Boeing Network & Space Systems. “A transfer as seamless as this one is even more satisfying for our Boeing GPS IIF team.” Boeing has delivered 45 of the 67 GPS satellites to the Air Force, states the release.
No matter what happens with the Nunn-McCurdy review of the Sentinel ICBM program, the nation must have a land-based element of its nuclear triad, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.