Big GPS 3, T-Sat Contracts Likely Next Year

摘要

The U.S. Air Force is poised to pick prime contractors to build new navigation and communications satellites in the year ahead and also might award contracts for work on alternatives to its next generation of missile warning satellites. As it makes decisions on next-generation systems, and continues work on satellites that are well along in development, Air Force officials are trying to ensure that their space programs receive the technical rigor that was often lacking on efforts that began in the 1990s, said Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, which procures spacecraft and launch vehicles.