L3Harris entreg\u00f3 el sat\u00e9lite de tecnolog\u00eda de navegaci\u00f3n experimental al Laboratorio de Investigaci\u00f3n de la US Air Force para su fase final de integraci\u00f3n y prueba, manteniendo el programa en marcha para un lanzamiento a fines de 2023. Servir\u00e1 como banco de pruebas para futuras capacidades de GPS, incluidos haces orientables que brindan cobertura regional, una carga \u00fatil reprogramable que puede recibir actualizaciones mientras est\u00e1 en \u00f3rbita y defensas integradas contra la se\u00f1al de interferencia. El laboratorio y la Fuerza Espacial tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1n considerando c\u00f3mo el sat\u00e9lite podr\u00eda aumentar la constelaci\u00f3n GPS actual como peque\u00f1os sat\u00e9lites independientes.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 L3Harris delivered the experimental Navigation Technology Satellite-3 to the Air Force Research Laboratory for its final phase of integration and testing, keeping the program on track for a late 2023 launch.<\/p>\n
AFRL announced the delivery Jan. 26, which brings the lab closer to conducting the first U.S. positioning, navigation and timing experiment\u00a0in almost a half century<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis major milestone marks the transition from space system development at contractor\u2019s facilities to the final stage of integration and test activities,\u201d program manager Arlen Biersgreen said in a statement.<\/p>\n AFRL awarded L3Harris an $84 million contract in 2018 to develop NTS-3, which will serve as a testbed for future GPS capabilities including steerable beams that provide regional coverage, a reprogrammable payload that can receive updates while on orbit and built-in defenses against signal jamming. The lab and the Space Force\u00a0are also considering how the satellite could augment the current GPS constellation<\/a>\u00a0as standalone small satellites.<\/p>\n The program\u2019s scope also includes development of NTS-3 ground receivers, which allow military users to take advantage of the satellite\u2019s advanced PNT capabilities.<\/p>\n In its first year on orbit, the satellite will conduct more than 100 experiments to test different technologies and performance techniques. In the meantime, the program has been using the satellite in ground experiments and exercises,\u00a0including the Army\u2019s PNT Assessment Exercise last August<\/a>.<\/p>\n With the satellite now on hand, Biersgreen said AFRL and L3Harris are conducting functional and performance tests. These include the first evaluation of the satellite\u2019s radio frequency broadcast capability. Once the tests conclude, the lab will test the satellite\u2019s performance in conditions meant to simulate the space environment.<\/p>\n Data from NTS-3 ground testing will be available to the Space Force and other partners on the program in the coming months, he said.<\/p>\n As the program\u2019s continue preparations for NTS-3\u2032s launch, the Space Force and the Air Force are making plans for how they will use the technology. The Space Force is in the throes of a force design study that will recommend changes to the current PNT architecture.<\/p>\n The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, on the other hand, is closely tracking the user segment, which includes the PNT receivers.<\/p>\n