Insider Brief
- Space Force has removed Astrion from its Resilient GPS program after an initial design review and will redirect its funding to three remaining vendors, according to Defense News.
- The R-GPS program aims to develop small, low-cost GPS satellites that will supplement existing systems with a more resilient, harder-to-disable alternative.
- The program, funded in part by the Pentagon’s quick start authority, faces congressional scrutiny over its impact on GPS resiliency and integration with ground systems.
The U.S. Space Force has cut Astrion from its Resilient GPS program, citing concerns about the maturity of its design, and will redistribute funding to three remaining competitors, according to Defense News.
The decision follows an initial design review conducted by Space Systems Command (SSC), the service’s acquisition arm, between December and January. Astrion, formerly Axient before its acquisition, was one of four companies awarded $10 million contracts last year to develop early concepts for a new GPS satellite system designed to provide more resilient navigation capabilities.
“There was one vendor that wasn’t quite at the level of maturity, so we discontinued that vendor and we’re going to harvest the remaining dollars and invest those in the three remaining vendors,” Cordell DeLaPena, program executive officer for military communications and positioning, navigation, and timing, told Defense News.
Astrion declined to comment on the decision, Defense News reports. SSC is still working out the terms of the contract termination, leaving it unclear how much of the original funding will be reassigned to the remaining companies: L3Harris, Sierra Space and Astranis.
R-GPS, as the program is called, aims to create a fleet of small, low-cost satellites that will supplement existing GPS systems and provide a more difficult target for adversaries. While traditional GPS satellites built by Lockheed Martin cost about $250 million each, the new R-GPS satellites are expected to cost between $50 million and $80 million per unit. Space Force expects to spend $1 billion on the program over the next five years.
The first phase of R-GPS is set to conclude this spring with a final design review and demonstration. After that, the Space Force plans to select at least two companies to refine their designs and build prototypes. The service will then choose one or more vendors to construct the first batch of eight satellites, targeting a 2028 launch.
R-GPS satellites will broadcast standard civilian GPS signals along with M-code, an encrypted military signal designed to resist jamming and interference. The smaller, cheaper satellites won’t match the full capability of the legacy GPS systems, but the plan is to deploy them in large numbers to provide a redundant, harder-to-disable alternative.
The program is funded in part by a new Pentagon budget authority called quick start, which allows up to $100 million annually to be redirected from existing budgets to speed up new development efforts. R-GPS received $40 million from this funding mechanism and requested another $77 million in fiscal 2025. However, lawmakers have pushed back, questioning the impact of the program and the Space Force’s plans for integrating it with ground systems.
DeLaPena said SSC is addressing those concerns and remains optimistic that Congress will approve the 2025 funding request.
Matt Swayne
With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Space Impulse since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses.
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