Courtney Albon
The Space Force and United Launch Alliance launched an experimental satellite today, kick-starting a year of demonstrations that could bring new technology to the GPS mission and the broader positioning, navigation and timing enterprise.
The National Technology Satellite-3 spacecraft, or NTS-3, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and was the first national security flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket.
Built by L3Harris as part of an Air Force Research Lab and Space Systems Command project, NTS-3 was designed to experiment with new positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT, signals and payloads that could be installed on future GPS satellites and shape future capabilities and operational concepts for spacecraft, ground systems and user equipment.
The satellite was supposed to launch in 2022, but delays to Vulcan — its long-scheduled ride to geosynchronous orbit — kept it grounded for years.
Joanna Hinks, a senior aerospace engineer in AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate, told reporters ahead of today’s launch her team is ready to finally see the NTS-3 satellite take flight, adding that the lab is “overdue” for a PNT experiment.
The Space Force is weighing its options for how to proceed with integrating NTS-3 technology into upcoming GPS production lines.
AFRL’s last major PNT demonstration flew in 1977 and demonstrated technology that is now integral to today’s GPS satellites.
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