Symmetricom has been awarded a contract from ITT Corporation Space Systems Division valued at a minimum of $4 million to supply timing for GPS IIIA, the next generation Global Positioning System (GPS) Space System program. Under the award, Symmetricom will deliver its Model 9552 Ovenized Quartz Master Oscillators over three years, including developing, qualifying and delivering flight oscillators for the first two space vehicles.
The Model 9552 is a high performance oven-controlled quartz crystal oscillator that produces a highly stable, low noise reference frequency output. It is particularly suited to space applications and can be used as the on-board frequency reference for a satellite or ground station. The oscillator will produce the output frequency for the GPS IIIA Navigation payload by means of steering from the on-board Atomic Frequency Standards.
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- GPS III will improve position, navigation and timing services for military troops and civilian users worldwide with anti-jam capabilities that will yield superior system security, accuracy and reliability. The new satellites will also interoperate with Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
- The U.S. Air Force announced last May that Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to build GPS III. Under the $1.4 billion contract, Lockheed Martin along with ITT and General Dynamics will produce the first two GPS IIIA satellites with first launch projected for 2014. The contract also includes options for up to 10 additional spacecraft.
- Symmetricom customers who utilize precision GPS technology will benefit from the GPS III satellite system as increased transmission power along with new civilian frequencies and signals will increase both accuracy and coverage.