Len Losik Ph D

The Launch and On-Orbit Operations of Boeing's GPS Satellites Len Losik Ph D

The Launch and On-Orbit Operations of Boeing's GPS Satellites documents the design of the Boeing GPS Block I satellites and the author's work as Boeing's GPS Space and Ground Segment Manager when he developed and used predictive algorithms to identify premature aging in normal appearing engineering measurement telemetry from electrical and electro-mechanical equipment on Boeing/U. S. Air Force GPS satellites winning Boeing $4.5B in future GPS satellite contracts that was contractually documented in GPS monthly and quarterly orbital test reports as CDRLs. The author includes the results of the use of PHM analysis on the NASA/Orbital/Berkeley Extreme Ultra-Violet Explorer Low earth orbiting space science satellite, a sister ship to the NASA/Lockheed Hubble Space Telescope. Now called prognostics and health management or PHM, predictive algorithms in PHM were developed by the author and used on the Boeing/U. S. Air Force's GPS Block I space-based navigation satellites to nullify the lack of GPS satellite telemetry from each of the on-orbit GPS satellites. PHM was first used by the author in 1979 to predict on-board GPS satellite atomic frequency standard failures for replacement prior to system wide, multi-service testing on the initial GPS constellation of 12 Block I MEO satellites that were operating in a 12,000 mile altitude, inclined 63 degrees, in a circular Earth orbit for achieving the maximum navigation payload system performance that would justify funding the GPS program by the Department of Defense over two existing fully funded U. S. Navy satellite-based navigation systems. The 12 Boeing Block 1 GPS satellite constellation was used to win program funding by the author from the Department of Defense resulting in two follow-on contracts for a total of $4.5B for 28 additional Block II GPS satellites and 12 Block IIA and 12 Block IIF satellites with improvements over the Block I satellites based on the results from the author's routine prognostic analysis he completed to keep GPS satellite equipment and navigation payload performance and reliability as high as possible. With the Air Force's GPS program funded by the Department of Defense in 1981, the two existing, Navy satellite-based navigation and timing programs called TIMATION and TRANSIT were retired and the ownership of the Air Force's GPS program was turned over to the U. S. government for funding and operations after GPS was provided for public use for free by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 following the intentional shoot down of a commercial Korean airlines passenger jet over the Soviet Union by a Soviet Union fighter pilot. an Addendum has been added to illustrate the author's use of Fourier analysis to create virtual telemetry behavior for GPS satellite subsystem equipment telemetry that was not available due to the restrictions placed on each Boeing GPS satellite telemetry availability by senior Air Force officers at AFSMC (SAMSO) in Los Angeles CA. and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company management and AFSCF contracted satellite operations personnel in Sunnyvale CA., who wanted the GPS test and evaluation program to fail.