[Satellite Today – 4-7-08] The GPS Block 2R-M satellite is operational for military and civilian users worldwide, the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin announced April 7.
    The satellite, designated GPS 2R-19M, is the sixth in a line of eight GPS 2R satellites that Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems has modernized for its customer, the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Each 2R-M satellite includes a modernized antenna panel that provides increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal that will provide users with an open access signal on a different frequency.
    A multi-billion dollar development contract is scheduled to be awarded by the Global Positioning Systems Wing in early 2008.