Nearly 50 years ago, the U.S. Air Force started deploying the Global Positioning System, or GPS, satellites, which are today essential pieces of infrastructure for the military and the economy.
A study by the Commerce Department estimates that since then, GPS has produced over $1.4 trillion in economic gains. However, an “outage could potentially have an economic impact of $1 billion a day,” the agency cautioned.
The U.S. Space Force launched the Resilient Global Positioning System, a satellite program worth about $2 billion because Pentagon officials think such losses are a modest estimate. The effort, known as R-GPS for short, aims to give the present satellite system a backup, alternate network.
[GPS] is essential to everything we do on a daily basis, including the timing of every transaction, the stock market, and the crops we grow. The head of R-GPS at the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, Lt. Col. Justin Deifel, told CNBC.
It’s comparable to electricity and water. We need to ensure that it is available because it is both an economic and a warfighter’s utility,” Deifel continued.
The Pentagon has prioritized creating the alternative R-GPS network due to the significance of the 31 GPS satellites now in orbit and the possible threat posed by U.S. enemies like China and Russia in space. To do this, the Space Force has looked to the private space industry.
Astranis, Axient, L3 Harris, and Sierra Space were the four businesses that were given contracts by the branch last month for R-GPS design proposals.
An illustration of a Nexus satellite being put together.
The Astranis
The R-GPS mission represents a move for startup Astranis, which launched its first “MicroGEO” spacecraft last year, into the positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services sector in addition to satellite internet.
John Gedmark, CEO of Astranis, told CNBC, “We’ve started to see a huge push towards proliferation in higher orbits by the U.S. national security community.” “Now, with a next-generation small satellite approach, the Department of Defense has realized all of the amazing things that we can do in high orbit.”
The new Nexus product line of PNT satellites, Astranis’ response to the R-GPS initiative, is being unveiled as the company grows. They employ the same kind of spacecraft as the company’s broadband satellites, Gedmark pointed out.
An illustration of a Nexus satellite orbiting above the Atlantic
Additionally, the Nexus product line expands Astranis’s planned spacecraft deployment and operation areas because R-GPS satellites will function in medium Earth orbit, similar to the current GPS network.
Since its establishment in 2015, the business has raised $750 million, and it has announced agreements for 12 of its internet satellites, 10 of which are anticipated to enter geosynchronous orbit by the end of next year.
“We were aware from the beginning that this platform we created could be utilized for purposes other than broadband telecommunications, and the Resilient GPS program has just emerged as an ideal illustration of that,” Gedmark stated.
Given that Space Force intends to construct a complete network of at least two dozen satellites, Gedmark views R-GPS as “a multi-billion dollar opportunity.”
The R-GPS strategy
To launch the R-GPS program, the Space Force exploited a new Pentagon financing authority known as “Quick Start.”
The military notes that the process can take up to three years for space programs, but in less than six months, the program received permission from the deputy secretary of defense, performed market research, hosted firms for an industry day, solicited bids, and awarded initial contracts.
“They have advanced this program at an unprecedented rate. The Department of Defense has never moved so quickly before, Gedmark remarked.
A rendering of a Nexus satellite in orbit.
A total of $40 million was distributed by R-GPS to finance the design studies. According to SSC’s Deifel, the companies will begin their work during an eight-month “phase zero” period that concludes in the spring.
When considering only ongoing technical expenses, the entire current budget comes to between $50 million and $80 million per satellite, with up to 24 satellites being purchased. The fast calculation is that 24 satellites will cost between $1.2 and $1.9 billion over the next five to six years, according to Deifel.
Deifel stated that although “non-recurring engineering costs” are not currently included in the budget, he anticipates that they will be substantially lower than the design costs.
The R-GPS satellites will be purchased and deployed by Space Systems Command in eight-sale batches, with the first set scheduled to launch as early as 2028.
SSC intends to choose one or more of the businesses to proceed with the program into the construction phases after the design assessments are complete.
Despite the fact that Astranis’ first satellite failed last year because of a third-party problem with its solar arrays, Gedmark is optimistic about the company’s prospects in the R-GPS program because of its experience operating in the far-off geosynchronous orbit.
“A low-cost, [radiation]-hardened satellite for high orbits is a spacecraft of this class that we are the only company that has proven on orbit,” Gedmark stated.