Eric Brown said logistics and service technologies in orbit are moving the industry to think of new ways to design satellites.
WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin is redesigning the bus used for the Global Positioning System satellites so that it can be upgraded to orbit with new hardware, a company executive said on February 25.
Eric Brown, senior director of military space mission strategy at Lockheed Martin, said it was important because the thought today is that “once there was something on a track, you were done with it.” He said thinking will change as the capabilities for space and logistics service become available in the coming years.
The redesigned LM2100 commercial bus will be used in the future version of GPS 3 satellites known as GPS 3F. Lockheed Martin expects the third satellite of the GPS 3F line to have the upgraded bus, Brown said during a panel discussion at the Air Force Association’s aviation war virtual symposium.
The panel was moderated by brig. Gen. Steve Whitney, director of space programs for the Air Force Department. Whitney, who previously managed the GPS program at the Space and Missile Systems Center, noted that orbital service is an emerging technology in the space industry and DoD satellites need to take advantage of it.
Brown said innovations in orbit logistics and service are driving the industry to think of new ways to design satellites.
‘We will have the ability to enable on-track coupling, which will enable us to do on-track upgrades to bring in a new processor, new sensor technologies, things like that, which we enables the relevance and mission capability of a space platform, ”he said.
The LM2100 is a large platform used for satellites in the range of 2,300 to 6,500 kilograms.
Brown said Lockheed Martin has been working on this upgrade for some time. One of the motivators was the concern that satellite upgrades on an orbit are considered a very risky proposition and that there are currently technologies to make this possible with less risk.
Joseph Cassady, executive director for space at Aerojet Rocketdyne, was also on the panel, citing the company’s interest in logistics space.
Brown said Lockheed Martin plans to partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne in this area. “When we talk about the maturity of things like meeting and proximity operations, we have a great ability as an industry, and Aerojet Rocketdyne is definitely a great company exploring such things as well,” Brown said.
Lockheed Martin announced in December that it plans to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne.
“Given the announcements we ‘ve had over the past few months, Lockheed Martin would like to partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne in the future as part of the family,” Brown said.