5-minute read | 700 words
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The current state of GPS following OCX with Dr. Sean Gorman, CEO of Zephr.xyz.
Host Maria Varmazis sits down with Dr. Sean Gorman, CEO of Zephr.xyz, to discuss GPS and the broader Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Maria and Dr. Gorman discuss how existing systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks and the impacts these incidents have on everyday life. They explore how recent critical modernization efforts like the next-generation operational control system (OCX) face operational challenges and what the future of GNSS systems could look like.
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GPS, an outdated, but indispensable technology.
This week on T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing: we dive into GPS technologies, a backbone technology for decades. Despite their value, these technologies remain outdated and unreliable for the modern era. Here, we are looking deeper into these systems, how they are exploited, and what nations are doing to revolutionize this technology.
Does this newsletter spark questions for you? Write to us at space@n2k.com to guide how we’ll continue to explore the internet in space in future podcast episodes and newsletter issues.
GPS systems are the backbone of many core technologies found across commercial, military, and governmental organizations. Positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems underpin everything from aviation and shipping to emergency response, energy grids, and financial services. However, despite its criticality, GPS has continued to become increasingly strained by both technical limitations and security threats.
GPS services are provided by several global satellite constellations, operated by major powers like the US, China, Europe, and Russia, among others, creating a broad satellite ecosystem more commonly known as the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Modern devices often rely on multiple constellations at once to improve accuracy and coverage. While this ecosystem creates stronger interoperability, it also introduces significant risks at the terrestrial level, which include GPS jamming–using signal jamming devices to interfere with legitimate signals– and spoofing attacks – a GPS simulation that broadcasts fake GPS signals. We’ll get into more depth on GPS attacks in next week’s T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing and Signals and Space.
Modernizing GPS.
As attack techniques are deployed more frequently, the calls for GPS modernization continue to increase.
As the US has looked to modernize GPS systems, two standout projects include GPS III and Next-generation operational control system (OCX).
With its final satellite launch taking place in March 2026, GPS III represents the most substantial upgrade to the US’s PNT infrastructure. The project involved launching ten new satellites, which are set to deliver up to three times as effective positioning accuracy and eight times stronger anti-jamming capabilities than previous iterations.
However, these advances represent only one part of the GPS ecosystem. In another modernization effort, the US government launched the OCX program, which aimed to improve legacy GPS infrastructure through stronger command and control capabilities. Despite its importance, the OCX program struggled under rising complexity. In April 2026, the OCX program was shut down, citing that the project's cost had nearly doubled and was over a decade late.
As a result, while GPS systems have been steadily improved via GPS III satellites, there are still significant holes within current infrastructure. While alternative solutions are emerging, such as with low-earth orbit constellations, these approaches are still developing and need further validation before they can serve as true replacements or backups for GPS.