La Fuerza Espacial de EE.UU. y United Launch Alliance lanzaron hoy un sat\u00e9lite experimental, dando inicio a un a\u00f1o de demostraciones que podr\u00edan aportar nueva tecnolog\u00eda a la misi\u00f3n GPS y al sector m\u00e1s amplio de posicionamiento, navegaci\u00f3n y cronometraje.La nave espacial Sat\u00e9lite Nacional de Tecnolog\u00eda-3, o NTS-3, se lanz\u00f3 desde la Estaci\u00f3n de la Fuerza Espacial de Cabo Ca\u00f1averal en Florida y fue el primer vuelo de seguridad nacional del cohete Vulcan de United Launch Alliance .<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0for United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan rocket<\/a>.<\/p>\n Built by L3Harris as part of an Air Force Research Lab and Space Systems Command project, NTS-3 was designed to\u00a0experiment with new positioning, navigation and timing<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n The satellite was supposed to launch in 2022, but delays to Vulcan \u2014 its long-scheduled ride to geosynchronous orbit \u2014\u00a0kept it grounded for years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Joanna Hicks, a senior aerospace engineer in AFRL\u2019s Space Vehicles Directorate, told reporters ahead of today\u2019s launch her team is ready to finally see the NTS-3 satellite take flight, adding that the lab is \u201coverdue\u201d for a PNT experiment.<\/p>\n AFRL\u2019s last major PNT demonstration flew in 1977 and demonstrated technology that is now integral to today\u2019s GPS satellites.<\/p>\n \u201cWith NTS-3 we are going to experiment with a number of technologies that look at how we can continue to evolve and augment GPS to make sure it remains the gold standard that our warfighters need,\u201d Hicks said.<\/p>\n NTS-3\u2019s extra time on the ground allowed AFRL and L3Harris to conduct extended lab testing, and the firm was able to add new signals to the spacecraft after it was initially delivered. Once in orbit, the satellite will perform more than 100 tests exploring a range of technologies \u2014 from simultaneous GPS signal broadcast and receipt to autonomous operations to anti-spoofing signals.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of those will be in a lab where we are piping signals into a lab to do our processing, and some of them we anticipate would be in a field environment that where we\u2019re trying to replicate conditions that the warfighter might experience,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cWhen it comes to clocks and time keeping, we also have experiments that are taking place onboard the satellite and we\u2019re piping that data down to be looked at.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the program proves out different capabilities, the Space Force will weigh options for how to integrate the technology into its GPS production lines. The service had initially planned to funnel NTS-3-proven capabilities into the production line for its newest GPS variant, dubbed GPS IIIF, but launch delays have left little margin for design changes.<\/p>\n Cordell DeLaPena, who oversees the Space Systems Command\u2019s PNT portfolio, told Defense News earlier this year that while the program is shifting from design to production, there\u2019s still some room on the first batch of Lockheed Martin-built GPS IIIF satellites for additional capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are a handful of these experiments that launch and prove themselves out on orbit and if they\u2019re mature enough to start considering maturing those concepts for production, that would be the path,\u201d DeLaPena said.<\/p>\n And if the service misses that window, there\u2019s always the next batch of spacecraft, he added.<\/p>\n