Jay Clemens
Northrop Grumman and Boeing have sent their responses to a U.S. Air Force notice that seeks a vendor to build the branch’s next set of GPS satellites under a potential $200 million contract, Space News reported Thursday.
Mike Gruss writes the Air Force’s acquisition arm released a solicitation in search of interested vendors to develop the next batch of GPS III satellites and design a new h navigation payload for the spacecraft.
Lockheed Martin’s space systems division is building eight GPS 3 satellites at its Sunnyvale, California-based facility, according to the report.
The Air Force is looking for potential vendors to build the next-generation GPS satellites as the service intends to maintain the spacecraft well into the coming decades, the report says.
Gruss writes the Air Force plans to issue up to two production readiness contracts in 2015 while a fixed-price production contract is slated for 2017 or 2018.
Selected contractors will build up to 22 GPS IIIÂ follow-on satellites and the first satellite of that set is scheduled for launch in 2023, Space News reports.
