The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 17, 2018, Image 4
4A Monday, December 17, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com NATION Next-generation GPS satellites set for space BY DAN ELLIOTT ~Z Associated Press >1 > Jw. I PATRICK H. CORKERY I Associated Press This April 9, 2015 photo provided by Lockheed Martin shows the first GPS III satellite being built in a clean room at Lockheed Martin’s complex south of Denver. The satellite is scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday, Dec. 18. DENVER — After months of delays, the U.S. Air Force is about to launch the first of a new generation of GPS satellites, designed to be more accurate, secure and versatile. But some of their most highly touted features will not be fully available until 2022 or later because of problems in a companion program to develop a new ground control system for the satellites, government auditors said. The satellite is scheduled to lift off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It’s the first of 32 planned GPS III satellites that will replace older ones now in orbit. Lockheed Martin is building the new satellites outside Denver. GPS is best-known for its widespread civilian appli cations, from navigation to time-stamping bank trans actions. The Air Force esti mates that 4 billion people worldwide use the system. But it was developed by the U.S. military, which still designs, launches and oper ates the system. The Air Force controls a constella tion of 31 GPS satellites from a high-security complex at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. Compared with their pre decessors, GPS III satellites will have a stronger mili tary signal that’s harder to jam — an improvement that became more urgent after Norway accused Russia of disrupting GPS signals dur ing a NATO military exer cise this fall. GPS III also will provide a new civilian signal compat ible with other countries’ navigation satellites, such as the European Union’s Galileo system. That means civilian receivers capable of receiving the new signal will have more satellites to lock in on, improving accuracy. “If your phone is look ing for satellites, the more it can see, the more it can know where it is,” said Chip Eschenfelder, a Lockheed Martin spokesman. The new satellites are expected to provide loca tion information that’s three times more accurate than the current satellites. Current civilian GPS receivers are accurate to within 10 to 33 feet, depend ing on conditions, said Glen Gibbons, the founder and former editor of Inside GNSS, a website and maga zine that tracks global navi gation satellite systems. With the new satellites, civilian receivers could be accurate to within 3 to 10 feet under good conditions, and military receivers could be a little closer, he said. Only some aspects of the stronger, jamming-resistant military signal will be avail able until a new and com plex ground control system is available, and that is not expected until 2022 or 2023, said Cristina Chaplain, who tracks GPS and other pro grams for the Government Accountability Office. Chaplain said the new civilian frequency won’t be available at all until the new control system is ready. The price of the first 10 satellites is estimated at $577 million each, up about 6 percent from the original 2008 estimate when adjusted for inflation, Chaplain said. The Air Force said in September it expects the remaining 22 satellites to cost $7.2 billion, but the GAO estimated the cost at $12 billion. The first GPS III satellite was declared ready nearly 2 1 /2 years behind schedule. The problems included delays in the delivery of key components, retesting of other components and a decision by the Air Force to use a Falcon 9 rocket for the first time for a GPS launch, Chaplain said. That required extra time to certify the Fal con 9 for a GPS mission. The new ground control system, called OCX, is in worse shape. OCX, which is being developed by Ray theon, is at least four years behind schedule and is expected to cost $2.5 billion more than the original $3.7 billion, Chaplain said. The Defense Department has struggled with making sure OCX meets cybersecu rity standards, she said. A Pentagon review said both the government and Ray theon performed poorly on the program. Raytheon has overcome the cybersecurity problems, and the program has been on budget and on schedule for more than a year, said Bill Sullivan, a Raytheon vice president in the OCX system. Sullivan said the company is on track to deliver the system to the Air Force in June 2021, ahead of GAO’s estimates. The Air Force has devel oped work-arounds so it can launch and use GPS III satel lites until OCX is ready to go. While the first GPS III waits for liftoff in Florida, the second is complete and ready to be transported to Cape Canaveral. It sits in a cavernous “clean room” at a Lockheed Martin complex in the Rocky Mountain foot hills south of Denver. GOP House candidate could be replaced following probe BY EMERY P. DALESI0 Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — Leg islation quickly passed by North Carolina’s lawmak ers this week would prepare a path for Republicans to dump their nominee in a still- undecided U.S. House race marred with ballot fraud allegations. “I think (legislators are) worried that Mark Harris might be damaged goods and they want to have the oppor tunity to have a different Republican nominee,” said Carter Wrenn, a Republican operative and consultant to former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and others for more than 40 years. “That’s how I read those tea leaves.” If the state elections board decides ballot irregulari ties or other problems cast the true outcome into doubt and force a redo, the legisla tion — if allowed to go into law by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper — would require new primary elections in the 9th Congressional District race, in addition to a new general election. That would allow Repub licans another look at Mark Harris, the Republican who led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes in unofficial results. Harris hasn’t been certified the winner, and an investigation is looking into missing absentee ballots in rural Bladen County and whether unsealed ballots ille gally handled by collection teams there could have been altered. Bladen was the only county among the eight within the 9th District where Harris won a majority of mail-in absen tee ballots over McCready. State Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican, said holding new primary elections in the 9th District made sense because unusual absentee ballots results also cropped up during last May’s primary. Harris won 96 percent of the mail-in ballots in Bladen County on the way to his narrow victory over GOP Rep. Robert Pittenger. The Republican-led Gen eral Assembly “has a political motive for doing this. They realize that Mark Harris is a damaged candidate and they’re trying to find a means of replacing him on the bal lot,” said U.S. Rep. G. K. But terfield, a North Carolina Democrat. “So this is a pre emptive strike, in my opin ion, to remove Mark Harris and to get another nominee in there.” New primaries would open the door to Pittenger or anyone else to carry the Republican banner against McCready or some other Democrat. Pittenger said he wants to wait until after the elections board reveals its investiga tive findings at a hearing that was postponed Friday until Jan. 11, meaning the seat will stay empty when Congress assembles Jan. 3. “I have received calls from a number of friends in the last couple days. My instincts are that I just think we ought to wait for this evidentiary hear ing and let all the facts come out. Then after that, maybe I can give more consideration to that,” he said in an interview Friday. State Republi can Party Execu tive Director Dallas Woodhouse said that if there were to be a new primary elec tion the state GOP would stay neutral but “every candi date who enters that primary, if there is one, will have a chance to make their case.” In an interview with WBTV on Friday, Harris stopped short of criticizing party offi cials when he was asked if he felt under attack by fellow Republicans. “Well I cer tainly don’t feel the circling of the wagons around Harris the way I see the Democrats circling the wagons around McCready,” Harris said. Democrats could sue if primaries are set in motion, Butterfield said. Pittenger and other Republicans didn’t contest Harris’ nomination though suspicions about absentee ballots in Bladen County were raised then, so now should be too late, But terfield said. “It’s fundamentally unfair to a candidate who has raised and spent millions of dollars in anticipation of Mark Harris being the opponent, to have to go through that again with a different opponent,” Butter field said. “Dan McCready shouldn’t have to face two dif ferent opponents.” Harris PAID ADVERTISEMENT BREAKING NEWS... New Youth Restoring Pill Helps You Grow Biologically Younger Based on groundbreaking research from UC Davis, anti-aging pioneer creates the world’s first life- extension pill that boosts the energy center of cells By Ray Wilson Associated Health Press AHP - Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have discovered a new compound that has the amazing ability to reverse the aging process in cells, extending lifespan and restoring health. 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On a recent treadmill stress test, I was told that I did as well as several patients tested who were in their 20s,” raves one user. Adds another: “I noticed a difference within a few days. My endurance almost doubled. But it’s not just in your body. You can feel it mentally too,” Changing the Way We Age Ultra Accel II is an exciting new anti-aging pill that’s now helped thousands of people reclaim their energy, vitality, and youth regardless of their age or health status. With daily use, it can help you look and feel decades younger and sidestep the illnesses that accompany aging and can make life hard. You can now regain boundless energy, new vigor and physical capabilities you enjoyed in your youth. Where to Find Ultra Accel II This is the official release of Ultra Accel II in Georgia. As such, the company is offering a special discounted supply to any reader who calls within the next 48 hours. A special hotline number and discounted pricing has been created for all Georgia residents. Discounts will be available starting today at 6 a.m. and will automatically be applied to all callers. Your toll-free hotline number is 1-866-823-1224 and will only be open for the next 48 hours, use Promo Code NP18DECUA302 when you call in. Only a limited discounted supply of Ultra Accel II is currently available in your region. THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. RESULTS MAY VARY