The 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., expects to release the next software upgrade for the Global Positioning System ground system early this month and complete this refresh by early January. “We’ve done a thorough test of this routine upgrade and it passed without any anomalies,” said Col. Harold Martin, positioning, navigation, and timing division chief in Air Force Space Command’s requirements directorate. He added, “The upgrade doesn’t change the navigation message and should be transparent to GPS users.” This work builds upon previous upgrades instituted in January and March as part of the Air Force’s larger ongoing effort to improve and maintain the current GPS ground control segment until it fields the next-generation advanced control segment, dubbed OCX, in 2015. (Peterson release)
Matthew Lohmeier, who was fired from a Space Force squadron command just two years ago, took another step in his unlikely journey to the Department of the Air Force's No. 2 job May 1, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee that his background as an Air Force F-15C pilot…