INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
"So, we're off working now with that program office to go start off a more commercial line," Purdy said
"And when I say commercial in this particular aspect, just to clarify, this is accomplishing the same GSSAP mission
Our operators will fly the GSSAP system using the same ground systems and data they do now, but these would be using faster, commercial
and cheaper, less expensive parts in order to bring that together in a faster sense."
An artist's illustration of two of the Space
Force's GSSAP surveillance satellites, built by Northrop Grumman.
Credit:
US Space Force
The next-gen GSSAP spacecraft may not meet the same standards as the Space Force's existing
inspector satellites, but the change comes with benefits beyond lower costs and faster timelines
It will be unclassified and will be open to multiple vendors to build and launch space surveillance satellites, injecting some level of
competition into the program
It will also be eligible for sales to other countries.There's another area where Purdy said the Space Force was surprised by what commercial
satellite builders were offering
Last year, the Pentagon used a new "Quick Start" procurement model authorized by Congress to establish a program to bolster the GPS
navigation network, which is run by the Space Force but relied upon by commercial users and private citizens around the world.The Space
Force has more than 30 GPS satellites in medium-Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of roughly 12,550 miles (20,200 kilometers)
Purdy said the network is "vulnerable" because the constellation has a relatively small number of satellites, at least relative to the Space
In MEO, the satellites are within range of direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons
Many of the GPS satellites are aging, and the newer ones, built by Lockheed Martin, cost about $250 million apiece
With the Resilient GPS program, the Space Force aims to reduce the cost to $50 million to $80 million per satellite.The satellites will be
smaller than the GPS satellites flying today and will transmit a core set of signals
"We're looking to add more resiliency and more numbers," Purdy said."We actually didn't think that we were going to get much, to be honest
in LEO already, but they were lowering in MEO," Purdy said
"So, that convinced us that we should proceed with it
The results have actually been more surprising and encouraging than we thought."The [satellite] buses actually bring a higher power level
than our current program of record does, which allows us to punch through jamming in a better sense
We can achieve better results, we think, over time, going after these commercial buses," Purdy said
Stephen Purdy oversees the Space Force's acquisition programs at the Pentagon.
Credit:
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In September, the Space Force awarded four agreements to Astranis,
Axient, L3Harris, and Sierra Space to produce design concepts for new Resilient GPS satellites
Astranis and Axient are relatively new to satellite manufacturing
Astranis is a pioneer in low-mass Internet satellites in geosynchronous orbit and a non-traditional defense contractor
Axient, acquired by a company named Astrion last year, has focused on producing small CubeSats.The military will later select one or more of
these companies to move forward with producing up to eight Resilient GPS satellites for launch as soon as 2028
Early planning is already underway for a follow-on set of Resilient GPS satellites with additional capabilities, according to the Space
Force.The experience with the R-GPS program inspired the Space Force to look at other mission areas that might be well-served with a similar
They settled on GSSAP as the next frontier.Scolese, director of the NRO, said his agency is examining how to use commercial satellite
constellations for other purposes beyond Earth imaging
the commercial imagery," Scolese said
