military satellite

An artistic rendering depicts the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL’s, Navigation Technology Satellite-3, or NTS-3, in simulated geosynchronous orbit. NTS-3, an experimental platform designed to demonstrate technologies to increase resiliency, robustness and reprogrammability of Position, Navigation, and Timing functionality in space, will be on display at AFRL’s “Engine to Accelerate” booths at the 2024 Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference Sept. 16-18, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland. AFRL is accelerating innovation by transforming the satellite navigation architecture to be reprogrammable both on-orbit and in the field, which enables new capabilities to support the warfighter faster through software updates. Like downloading a new app on your smartphone, this means that new satellites will not need to be launched to upgrade the signals, and that warfighters will not need to purchase and deploy new hardware to take advantage of upgraded signals. NTS-3 will mature technologies like the advanced timekeeping system that can detect and mitigate atomic clock faults without direct operator intervention. NTS-3's software-defined receiver, known as Global Navigation Satellite System Test Architecture, can receive and process new navigation signals that improve performance for U.S. forces in the presence of GPS interference or spoofing (a process by which users are sent inaccurate signals telling them that they are in the incorrect time and place). NTS-3 is anticipated to launch in late 2024. (Courtesy photo illustration)

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