[Satellite TODAY 07-21-10]  U.S. Air Force Space Command and Space and Missile Systems Center officials confirmed that the on-orbit checkout of its first GPS 2F satellite is progressing as scheduled as it approaches the halfway point of the 90-day checkout period, the Air Force said July 20.
    The GPS 2F SV-1, also known as SVN 62, is broadcasting the same L1 and L2 signals as previous GPS satellites and the L5 safety-of-life signal.
    All three signals being broadcast from SVN 62 are set unhealthy during checkout testing while experts monitor the quality and characteristics of the signals and the performance of the satellite. When tests are completed and the Air Force leadership gives approval, the satellite signals will be set healthy and will operate as specified in the Air Force interface control documents.
    DLR, Germany’s national research center for aeronautics and space combined L1, L2 and L5 signals in a technique used to characterize a number of known and modeled error sources from the signals during testing. The DLR said that the SVN 62’s L1, L2 and L5 signals are operating nominally, however, the DLR noticed higher residual errors than expected compared to previous somewhat similar measurements from Galileo’s Giove-A research and development satellite.