Lockheed Martin has opened a Global Positioning System (GPS) exhibit as a part of the Permanent Space Exhibit of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria to emphasize the importance of satellite navigation technology serving millions of citizens around the globe.
The GPS constellation works in concert with ground receivers to provide position, navigation and timing information to military and civilian users anywhere in the world. GPS technology supports a wide range of civil, scientific and commercial functions – from air traffic control to car navigation systems and from cell phones to wristwatches.
GPS is increasing productivity in areas as diverse as farming, mining, construction, surveying, package delivery and supply chain management. The system is also enhancing public safety by reducing response times for ambulances, firefighters and other emergency services.
Lockheed Martin sponsored the exhibit, in conjunction with the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), also known as the ICG.
The joint government industry partnership was formed to address issues of compatibility and interoperability of all the world’s GNSS systems to include the United States’ GPS and the European Galileo, and to encourage and promote the use of these GNSS systems in the developing world. The exhibit will showcase the benefits of GNSS and GPS infrastructure to an audience of more than 50,000 visitors annually to the United Nations Vienna International Center.
"Lockheed Martin is delighted to celebrate the opening of this GPS exhibit and the on-going work that the United Nations is doing with the ICG to support the use of this system worldwide," said Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of its Surveillance and Navigation Systems line of business.
"This exhibit represents our enduring dedication to GPS technology that continues to improve not only our world today, but also the world of tomorrow."
In remarks at the opening of the Exhibit, Mr. Prunariu, Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of outer space, said, "GPS III is the first GPS satellite designed to be interoperable with other GNSS systems. It is therefore fitting that it flies above our heads, a true testament to international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space."
Mr. Robert Wood, the State Department’s Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Vienna, said, "Lockheed Martin’s exhibit demonstrates how space technology can become meaningful in our daily lives and have significant uses beyond the realm of outer space. This amazing technology clearly merits a place in the permanent space exhibit at the UN."
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Newtown, Pa., designed and built 21 GPS IIR satellites and later modernized eight of those spacecraft to provide enhanced capabilities and performance.
In 2008, the team was awarded a $3 billion Development and Production contract to produce up to 12 GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. GPS III will improve position, navigation and timing services and provide advanced anti-jamming capabilities yielding superior system security, accuracy and reliability.
The team is progressing in the GPS IIIA Critical Design Review (CDR) phase of the program and is well on its path to the overall space vehicle CDR in August, two months ahead of the planned schedule. Successful completion of the space vehicle CDR will allow the team to enter the production phase of the program.
Follow us on Twitter.