Space Force adds $196 million for GPS ground control system

Nearly 15 years and $8 billion after launching a project to build an entirely new ground system to manage GPS satellites, the Space Force is investing another $196 million in its long-delayed GPS operational control systems, known as OCX.

However, contractor RTX may be reaching its limits with Space Force leaders. The most recent contract amendment, issued on November 27, is “an indefinite change order amendment,” a change that does not constitute a new option grant, new program, or technical change proposal.

In fact, it’s possible that RTX won’t even be eligible for such awards given its performance in the OCX program. Originally envisioned as a six-year contract in 2010 with delivery in 2016, only Block 0 of OCX is currently in use. Blocks 1 and 2 remain unfinished, although the Pentagon has now spent nearly $4.49 billion on them, according to a Defense Department contract announcement.

The Government Accountability Office now estimates that the Defense Department has spent more than $8 billion on all OCX blocks, including $433 million on Block 3F, intended for future GPS-IIIF satellites. The program has drawn the ire of regulators, lawmakers and the Space Force’s top acquisition official, Frank Calvelli, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, who called OCX “troubled,” an “albatross” and a “problem child.” has .”

Calvelli has repeatedly said he wants to get the program over the finish line and up and running, but that now appears impossible under his leadership as the current administration changes in January with the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.

In early 2023, Calvelli said he wanted to deploy OCX this year. By November, he pushed the schedule back to summer 2024. In February 2024, the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation estimated that the Space Force would not deploy OCX until March 2025 and would not adopt it operationally until July.

In May 2024, Calvelli told lawmakers in written testimony that he hoped to have the program operational by spring 2025. In September, the Government Accountability Office said the Space Force did not expect final acceptance of the software until December 2025, on a schedule with no room for postponements.

Calvelli and other officials said the program struggled because it tried to build an entirely new, very large software system in one go, a practice that has since been largely abandoned in favor of rapid, iterative updates. Development testing has been slow, and even after RTX delivers the program to the Space Force, it will still be months before operational testing occurs.

RTX room

RTX, formerly Raytheon, struggled with Space Force programs. In March, RTX withdrew from a $250 million contract to build seven low-Earth missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency after determining that the company could not make a profit on the project. In June, Space Systems Command deployed RTX from a planned missile warning/missile tracking satellite constellation in medium Earth orbit. RTX officials have said they no longer want to be the prime contractor for space systems.

Calvelli, who advocates for greater responsibility in space procurement, would not say whether RTX is on the Contractor Responsibility Watch List, which identifies companies that fail to meet cost or schedule targets on space programs. Space Systems Command has always declined to comment on the list, but last month SSC chief Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant told reporters, “Today we have a company on the watch list.”

“I won’t say who it is,” he added. “These authorities are staying with me at the moment. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 delegates these powers to the Service Acquisition Officer, and Mr. Calvelli has indicated that he would intend to use them perhaps more frequently.”

Garrant confirmed that the unnamed contractor is involved in high-priority programs for the Space Force and said its placement on the watchlist “worked absolutely as intended: we have a significant improvement in performance and attention at the highest levels.” of the company.” .”

Garrant did not provide any further information. Speculation suggests that RTX is the most likely candidate, especially since Garrant specifically ruled out Lockheed Martin and said the company was not on the list.

RTX declined to comment.

According to the 2018 law establishing the watch list, the Space Force “may not award a contract, execute a technical change proposal, or exercise an option with” such designated contractors. The contract change announced on November 27th does not fit this description.