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Lockheed wins satellite contract

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 15, 2008 at 6:08 p.m.

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Lockheed Martin Space Systems beat Boeing for a contract worth up to $3.6 billion to design and build up to a dozen next-generation military navigational satellites for the Air Force.

The Air Force said Lockheed will build and test the satellites at its Waterton Canyon campus in Jefferson County.

Lockheed spokesman Steve Tatum said the deal will bring 100 additional jobs to the Waterton campus over time.

Lockheed will manage the overall contract and perform the engineering work on the satellites in New Town, Pa.

The constellation of satellites is known as Global Positioning System III.

The GPS III program ultimately is expected to involve 32 satellites.

Col. Dave Madden told reporters the Air Force hopes to work with the same contractor for all 32 satellites - work that could be worth billions of dollars.

"That would be our intention - to have a relationship with one partner," said Madden. But he added the Air Force will have the flexibility to switch contractors if need be.

The latest contract covers development of the first two GPS III satellites, with initial funding put at $1.46 billion.

The Air Force has the option to acquire an additional 10 satellites, ultimately bringing the potential value of the contract to $3.6 billion.

The first constellation of GPS satellites were launched in the 1980s and become operational in the 1990s. The military used the satellites to guide bombs and missiles to targets.

Commercial applications using GPS have since exploded. Hikers and motorists, for example, use GPS receivers to avoid being lost. Banks use GPS to help operate their automated teller machines.

"We are honored that our government customer has entrusted our team to build this vital system, which will provide improved GPS accuracy and assured availability for military and civilian users worldwide," Lockheed said in a statement.

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467