Navigation Technology Satellite

The Navigation Technology Satellites are satellite demonstrations of new technologies related to satellite navigation, especially for next-generation GPS satellites.[1][2][3]

List of satellites

Name SATCAT Launch date (UTC) Launch vehicle Launch site Orbital apsis Inclination Period (min) Status
NTS-1 (Timation 3)[4][5] 7369 14 July 1974
 Atlas-F/PTS Vandenberg, SLC-3W Success
NTS-2 (Timation 4)[6] 10091 23 June 1977
 Atlas-F/SGS-1 Vandenberg, SLC-3W Success
NTS-3[7] 65160 13 August 2025
00:56 UTC 		Vulcan Centaur VC4S Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 Success

Navigation Technology Satellite-1 (NTS-1), also known as Timation-3 or P73-3, was a US Navy satellite launched on July 14, 1974, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, using an Atlas F/PTS rocket. It was a pivotal part of the TIMATION program, a precursor to the modern Global Positioning System (GPS), aimed at testing technologies for precise time-based navigation.[8]

Navigation Technology Satellite-2 (NTS-2), also known as Timation-4 or P76-4, was a US Navy technology-demonstration satellite launched on June 23, 1977, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, using an Atlas F/SGS-1 rocket. It was the second satellite in the Navigation Technology Satellite series, marking a critical step in the development of the modern Global Positioning System.[9]

Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) is a satellite to demonstrate new technologies related to satellite navigation. NTS-3 will demonstrate resilient positioning, navigation, and timing in a multi-layer space architecture.[10]

NTS-3 is based on the Northrop Grumman ESPAStar-D satellite bus. The satellite was launched on a Vulcan Centaur VC4S rocket as part of USSF-106 mission from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral on 13 August 2025 at 00:56 UTC.[11][12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "NTS 1 (P73-3)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  2. ^ "NTS 2 (P76-4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  3. ^ "NTS 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  4. ^ "NTS 1 (P73-3)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Navigation Technology Satellite". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  6. ^ "NTS 2 (P76-4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  7. ^ "NTS 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Navigation Technology Satellite". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Navigation Technology Satellite". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  10. ^ "NTS 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  11. ^ Erwin, Sandra (9 April 2022). "Air Force space experiment will seek to demonstrate multi-orbit satellite navigation". SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. ^ "AFRL To Test More-Resilient GPS Technologies". Aviation Week. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) Satellite" (PDF). AFRL Space Vehicle Directorate. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  • Media related to Navigation Technology Satellite at Wikimedia Commons
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