The AFRL-funded navigation satellite NTS-3 is an experimental satellite that could transition to production using the same contract if the Space and Missile Systems Center chooses to buy it.
NTS-3 will be deployed to geosynchronous orbit to supplement the military GPS constellation that operates from medium Earth orbit.
The Air Force Research Laboratory developed an experimental navigation satellite called Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3).
The 1,250-kilogram NTS-3 satellite is being built by L3Harris under an $84,000,000 contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory in December 2018.
NTS-3 aims to demonstrate that a spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit can supplement the Global Positioning System that operates from medium Earth orbit.
The NTS-3 spacecraft will broadcast experimental positioning, navigation, and timing signals that will be used to test anti-jam technologies to improve the resilience of GPS signals.
L3Harris will integrate the NTS-3 payload with an ESPAStar bus for a planned 2022 launch.
The Space Enterprise Consortium selected L3Harris in 2018 for the $84,000,000 NTS-3 contract.
Once deployed, NTS-3 will be operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate.
The NTS-3 contract includes options for the U.S. Air Force to procure up to nine satellites.
For the NTS-3 experiment, L3Harris is building a satellite that integrates its GPS navigation payload with a Northrop Grumman ESPAStar bus.
In December 2018 Harris Corp. was selected as the prime contractor for the NTS-3 experiment planned for launch in 2022.
The Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3 or NT-3) PNT satellite is scheduled to launch in 2022.
L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems, based in Melbourne, Florida, will build NTS-3 using a Northrop Grumman ESPAStar bus.
NTS-3 is an experiment to demonstrate that a layer of smaller satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit could supplement the medium Earth orbiting GPS constellation and improve the resiliency of the military’s positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities.
The Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) is an experimental navigation satellite developed by L3Harris for the U.S. Air Force that passed a preliminary design review on 2020-02-05.
The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Enterprise Consortium selected L3Harris in 2018 for an $84,000,000 contract as the prime system integrator to design, develop, integrate, and test NTS-3, including ground mission applications.
The 2018 contract for NTS-3 includes options for the Air Force to buy up to nine satellites.
The Air Force Research Laboratory plans to launch NTS-3 in 2022.
The Air Force Research Laboratory will launch the experimental PNT satellite NTS-3 in 2022.