Wright-Peterson AFB – August 23, 1999 – If it's true that no news is good news, then the Global Positioning System rollover late Aug. 21 was the best of news for the U.S. Air Force.
The GPS system, which counts time in epochs of 1,024 weeks rather than using traditional solar years, rolled over to 0000 for the first time since 1980, when the system's internal clock began.
Air Force officials confirm the GPS system, including the 27-satellite constellation and its network of ground support stations operated by Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., continued to function normally before, during and after the rollover.
A prepared and alert battle staff at Air Force Materiel Command headquarters, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, was ready for any scenario when the rollover occurred. Just as Col. James B. Armor predicted, the Air Force team did an outstanding job of testing and ensuring the compliance of the system as a whole. Armor is director of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning Systems Joint Program Office at Space and Missile System's Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.,
"As of Monday morning (Aug. 23), there were no AFMC GPS failures," said Lt. Col. Tom Bellnoski, AFMC battle staff director.
"The AFMC Y2K office closely watched this rollover an indication of how well they've prepared for year 2000", said Dorothy Tuck, AFMC Y2K program manager.
The watch began when experts at Air Force Space Command uploaded the new almanac containing week 0000 information Aug, 19 at 6 p.m. EDT. Air Force users began testing their receivers that evening, with no failures reported.
Saturday evening was much the same following the approximate 8 p.m. EDT rollover. Battle staff personnel waited patiently for reports confirming that no news was good news.
By early Aug. 22, only a skeleton crew remained in the quiet AFMC Command Center, while at other AFMC installations, life returned to normal as the Y2K countdown continued.
GPS rollover and other Y2K-related information at US Air Force
