OPINION — “The necessity for correct and uninterrupted PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) has by no means been extra important to our warfighters who function in GPS (International Positioning System)-denied environments. The profitable launch of the NTS-3 (Navigation Expertise Satellite tv for pc-3) system is step one in updating twentieth century expertise to assist handle present threats to our nationwide safety.”
That was Ed Zoiss, President of the House & Airborne Techniques phase for L3Harris Applied sciences, talking August 13, concerning the profitable launch and arrival in orbit of NTS-3, essentially the most superior U.S. experimental navigation satellite tv for pc in almost 50 years, that was designed and led by the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory (AFRL) with L3Harris Applied sciences as prime contractor.
NTS-3 is managed by the AFRL Transformational Capabilities Workplace in partnership with the U.S. House Pressure and U.S. Air Pressure.
House Pressure’s GPS supplies important positioning capabilities to navy, civilian, and business customers world wide. The USA authorities created GPS for the navy in 1973, launched the primary satellite tv for pc in 1978, made the system accessible to civilians in 1988, and has operated the total system of 24 satellites since 1993.
Right now it’s freely accessible to anybody with a GPS receiver, which suggests greater than six billion customers worldwide, in keeping with GPS World, with an estimated 170 million within the U.S. Day by day, GPS satellites assist in air site visitors management, banking, farming, mobile networks, and numerous different industries, and it’s maybe the house system that most individuals world wide rely upon every day.
Nevertheless, in keeping with the Air Pressure, “The quickly rising tempo of latest threats to GPS, akin to jamming and spoofing, point out that agile and resilient approaches to enhance the GPS system are wanted to take care of customers’ entry to its important service.”
The GPS system’s 24 operational satellites are strategically positioned in six medium earth orbits (MEOs), at an altitude of roughly 12,550 miles, with three to 4 satellites in every airplane making two orbits a day. This configuration ensures that not less than six satellites are seen from any level on Earth at any given time.
NTS-3, is predicted to vary the structure for satellite tv for pc navigation and to ship extra sturdy PNT capabilities to warfighters.
NTS-3 will perform some 100 exams over the approaching yr from near-geosynchronous orbit (GEO), the place the satellite tv for pc orbits instantly above the equator at about 22,236 miles above the earth. The satellite tv for pc’s orbital interval is near 24 hours and seems stationary from the bottom,
thus giving NTS-3 a transparent, unobstructed and distinct vantage level with out the interruption of climate or atmospheric distortion.
The NTS-3 program integrates a space-based payload, a reconfigurable floor management phase, and agile consumer receivers — all linked by reprogrammable software program. This structure permits for speedy updates throughout all segments, enabling operators to counter jamming, deploy new indicators, and adapt to evolving mission necessities with out changing {hardware}.
Based on an AFRL launch, “The [NTS-3] satellite tv for pc will broadcast navigation indicators from its phased-array antenna, which might electronically steer indicators to a desired area [on earth] with out bodily transferring the satellite tv for pc. These indicators are created by way of a digital, on-orbit reprogrammable PNT sign generator, which not solely helps legacy indicators and superior indicators not at present broadcast on GPS, but in addition permits new sign updates after launch.”
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NTS-3 will check a brand new digital sign generator, AFRL mentioned, “that may be reprogrammed on-orbit, enabling it to broadcast new indicators, enhance efficiency by avoiding and defeating interference, and including signatures to counter spoofing.” A purpose is to make attainable the importing of a sign to the satellite tv for pc and begin transmitting it with out having to relaunch your entire satellite tv for pc.
AFRL additionally mentioned NTS-3 may even check “the CHIMERA (Chips-Message Strong Authentication) sign authentication protocol, which is designed to collectively authenticate satellite tv for pc orbit knowledge and measurements of the vary between the satellite tv for pc and consumer.” CHIMERA supplies “an especially sturdy safety in opposition to GPS spoofing for civil customers. Future variations of CHIMERA, or completely different sorts of indicators, could be uploaded to the satellite tv for pc at any level after launch, based mostly on new data or risk developments on the bottom.”
Over the subsequent yr, AFRL will conduct a collection of demonstrations to evaluate these applied sciences in lifelike operational eventualities, from countering digital interference to quickly deploying new sign configurations in response to rising threats.
“As a result of SATNAV (satellite tv for pc navigation) is critically depending on exact timekeeping,” AFRL mentioned, “NTS-3 may have a number of atomic clocks and timing sources onboard the satellite tv for pc that will likely be used each independently and as an optimized ensemble to permit for automated clock error detection and correction.”
The NTS-3 Floor Management Phase (GCS), AFRL mentioned, is appropriate with the Enterprise Floor Companies, an structure that the House Forces’ House and Missile Techniques Middle is growing, to offer a standard system for satellite tv for pc command and management. “The purpose is to maneuver from a portfolio of stove-piped floor programs to a single system that can join with all Air Pressure and House Pressure satellites, saving hundreds of thousands of {dollars} by streamlining consumer coaching and operations,” AFRL mentioned.
NTS-3 floor management can be planning to leverage commercially-available providers akin to floor antennas and monitoring receivers to extend alternatives for contact time with the satellite tv for pc whereas decreasing dependence on already strained authorities antenna assets.
AFRL can be working with the non-profit MITRE Corp., to develop a reprogrammable software-defined receiver known as the International Navigation Satellite tv for pc System Check Structure (GNSSTA). That new receiver will permit customers to obtain each legacy GPS and superior indicators generated by NTS-3 — and is after all important.
Warfighters would be the final beneficiaries of the influence of latest navigation applied sciences and built-in SATNAV capabilities, and any adjustments to the sign being broadcast from house should be communicated to and coordinated with that consumer phase. NTS-3 exams will likely be used to exhibit new options for warfighters carrying so-called Software program-Outlined Radios (SDRs), able to receiving and processing reprogrammable SATNAV indicators.
Testing will present whether or not warfighter SDRs “will be capable of entry correct PNT knowledge and enhanced versatile anti-jam and anti-spoof protections,” in keeping with AFRL. “Classes from the GNSSTA software program structure developed by way of NTS-3 will pave the best way for future DoD main protection applications to efficiently join service women and men to a versatile and resilient SATNAV structure of the longer term.”
Very similar to downloading a brand new smartphone app, consider what future NTS-3 software program updates can deliver routinely to future customers with out the recapitalization effort usually required to improve.
That is the longer term for customers of GPS. Hopes are excessive that NTS-3 will information us down the fitting path.
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