Delays in the launch of the Air Force’s first two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites, originally scheduled for July 23, may impact United Launch Alliance’s ability to launch the GPS IIF-7 satellite on July 31, Air Force Space Command officials said Friday. Col. Bill Cooley, director of the Global Positioning System Directorate, said balancing the Air Force priorities with launch sustainability is key. “It’s always a compromise in discussion between the constellation sustainment and the launch manifest, and so those decisions have yet to be made,” Cooley said. After repeated delays, the GSSAP launch is now scheduled for Monday evening. The GPS IIF-7 is slated to leave from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., July 31 with a launch window beginning at 11:27 p.m.
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems matching $17.7 million contracts for an "Off-Board Sensing Station,” which is an unmanned aircraft that would extend a manned fighter’s sensing range and also potentially carry additional weapons for that aircraft. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts…