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Air Force Space Command is planning to start
using GPS satellite tracking, as opposed to radar tracking, to determine the
positions of satellites in orbit, officials told reporters during a
teleconference Friday. The July 31 launch of the seventh GPS IIF satellite will
be the last one that uses the C-Band radar tracking, said Walter Lauderdale, Air Force Space Command GPS
IIF-7 mission director. “The Delta IV launch vehicles have been, for
several missions, since last year, flying with GPS metric tracking, and
starting with the Worldview on the West Coast in the first part of August,
Atlas V will also be solely on GPS metric tracking,” he said. AFSPC began
pushing for the change in 2008, and United Launch Alliance and the Air Force
began transitioning to the GPS system earlier this year. The move is said to
help cut costs and provide enhanced range safety information, officials said.
