GPS World - January 2008 - (Page 12)

THE SYSTEM The Money-Go-Round Policy and system news and developments | GPS | Galileo | GLONASS addresses this issue, at least in part. Strictures and recommendations may also reinforce proposals aired in reports before the PNT Advisory Board to cut modules not necessary to primary mission. These would include spot beams, wideband cross-links, and the long-held tacit nuclear detection payload, which significantly increases weight, launch cost, and overall cost of GPS satellites. According to the minutes of the October 4–5 Advisory Board meeting, “Dr. Parkinson noted that expensive, complex satellites could threaten schedule as well as constellation size. Non-GPS requirements, such as Nuclear Detection Sensors, should be avoided, as these add weight to the satellite and may prevent achieving savings from inserting two GPS satellites into orbit with one launcher. A dual launch saves $50 million per satellite.” Loran Reprieve. The FY08 omnibus spending bill passed by the House on December 17 stated that Loran termination, floated by the Coast Guard, would be premature. Enhanced Loran has been recommended as a GPS backup by expert and advisory bodies. Loran supporters said the language in the House bill represents a plus for eLoran, which they believe also has quiet administration backing. Galileo Budget. The European Parliament on December 14 approved the European Union’s budget for 2008, which includes funding for the Galileo program through 2013. In bureaucratic terms, the question of Galileo’s fate came down to the wire. In September, European officials responsible for the EU budget said they had found funds for Galileo, proposing to draw unused money originally earmarked for natural resources programs this year and next. The move would provide some €2.4 billion ($3.3 billion) for Galileo — the budgetary shortfall left with the dissolution of the public/private partnerships — over the course of the next six years. The following month, European parliamentarians agreed with the plan, but felt it didn’t go far enough. They boosted proposed funding for Galileo, increasing the money set aside for the program in 2008 to €739 million ($1.06 billion), up from the much more modest €151 million under the transport officials’ original proposal for next year. Not all were sold on public funding for Galileo. But in November, European officials said they had ironed out their differences. At the 11th hour came heated debate about how Galileo funding and contracts would be awarded among member states and their respective aerospace companies. Eventually, a final accord was reached. Europe anticipates spending €3.7 billion on Galileo through 2013. www.gpsworld.com B udgets for both GPS and Europe’s Galileo program appeared at the end of last year, in varying stages of maturity. Matters will have progressed by the time you read this, but here’s what we knew at press date, December 20. GPS Budget. The U.S. House and Senate Armed Services committees in conference submitted a proposed Department of Defense (DoD) budget for fiscal year 2008: the FY08 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congress hoped to get it approved before recess. The Act was scheduled for a vote by the full House and Senate the week of December 17. The conferees fully funded $507 billion requested in the President’s FY08 Budget. The specifics for GPS and acquisition include: Reduce GPS III funding by $100 million, to $487.23 million. Engaging in familiar doublespeak, the Conference stated that it “remains fully supportive of GPS III Blast-off! Just as we went to press, the newest GPS satellite, IIR-18(M) launched successfully from Cape Canaveral, Florida, December 20. It is planned to be stationed in GPS orbital slot C1, as PRN 29 and SVN 57, and is expected to be set healthy for use in early January 2008. as a much needed next generation capability for improved precision, navigation, and timing.” Fold in the Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act of 2007, which aims to improve the management and oversight of DoD acquisition programs, tightening the rules for DoD’s acquisition of major weapons systems and subsystems, to reduce the risk of contract overpricing, cost overruns, and failure to meet contract schedules and performance requirement. Require each military department to appoint a 3-star military deputy to assist in managing and overseeing major defense acquisition programs. The last two steps follow criticism of DoD spending, led by the Government Accountability Office, whose director of acquisition told a Senate Armed Services panel last year that DoD space programs have tried to satisfy all requirements “in a single step.” Presumably the segmenting of the GPS III effort into phases IIIA (eight satellites to be acquired and launched), IIIB (eight satellites), and IIIC (16 satellites) 12 GPS World | January 2008 http://www.gpsworld.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GPS World - January 2008

GPS - January 2008 Contents Out in Front Expert Advice The Money-Go-Round u-Nav Latest Acquisition Apples to Apples Global SBAS 2008 GPS Receiver Survey Advertisers Index & Company Directory The Manufacturer's Road Year of the Who Working Indoor Up and Down Good, Better, Best Marketplace Classifieds Seen + Heard

GPS World - January 2008

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