For Want of a Nail: An Assessment of Global Positioning System Satellite Replenishment
Abstract
Despite its vital importance to the welfare and security of the nation, the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation is populated with numerous satellites operating well beyond their design life. These aging satellites are more likely to malfunction, which can reduce service coverage, degrade accuracy, and in some cases, transmit dangerously inaccurate data. The Air Force currently subscribes to a launch to sustain (LTS) GPS satellite replenishment strategy. Under this strategy, new satellites are launched only after a satellite failure or just prior to a failure. The purpose of this monograph is to investigate whether the Air Force should forgo its LTS replenishment strategy in favor of a more aggressive launch to augment (LTA) strategy in order to proactively replace high-risk satellites and to accelerate modernization timelines. It will be shown that the explosive growth of GPS over the past fifteen years has outpaced the Air Force's strategy on satellite replenishment. The growing importance of GPS must be matched with a progressive replenishment strategy that sustains its reliability and improves its utility for military, civil, and commercial users. The LTS strategy has placed a disproportionate emphasis on operational efficiency at the expense of operational effectiveness and has impaired the timely insertion of critical new capabilities into the constellation. A LTA strategy would help to reverse this trend.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 26, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA428995
Entities
People
- David E. Hook
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College