Boeing (NYSE: BA) has won a potential $51 million contract to ship U.S. Air Force GPS satellites to a Florida launch site as the company prepares for a satellite launch later this year.
The company is contracted to provide the Air Force 12 GPS IIF satellites and three have been launched into service, the company said Tuesday.
Nine remaining satellites are scheduled for completion by the end of this year, according to Boeing.
“With nine GPS IIFs still awaiting deployment, the contract scope includes supplying all support needed until the Air Force calls for the vehicles, ” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of space and intelligence systems.
Under the potential five-year contract, which includes one base year and four one-year options, the company will help prepare the IIF satellites before launch and perform post-launch checkout services.
Boeing will also provide the Air Force handover and on-orbit support.
IIF satellites are intended to provide users navigation services, atomic clock technology and both a new civilian L5 and military signal.
Boeing says it has produced nearly 70 percent of the GPS constellation satellites and has helped run the program since its inception in the 1970s.
