Spacecraft separation into geosynchronous Earth orbit occurred around seven hours after liftoff. “It’s an exciting day for us as we launched the first NSSL flight of Vulcan, an outstanding achievement for United Launch Alliance and the nation’s strategic space lift capability. This is an important milestone for the Space Force and all involved,” said Col. Jim Horne, USSF-106 Mission Director.
The mission carried the Navigation Technology Satellite-3, an Air Force Vanguard project led by the Air Force Research Laboratory and built by L3Harris Technologies. “After years of development, technical collaboration, and dedication by all involved, including our government mission partners and the entire ULA team, I’m proud to say the first Vulcan NSSL mission delivered its payloads safely into space,” Horne added.
NTS-3 is the first U.S. integrated navigation satellite experiment in nearly 50 years, following NTS-1 and NTS-2 which paved the way for GPS. It features reprogrammable navigation signals, an electronically steerable antenna, and advanced timekeeping algorithms to demonstrate resilient satellite navigation.
The mission supports the U.S. Space Force’s Assured Access to Space programme, which provides reliable launch services and maintains resilient infrastructure for national security space operations. It also aims to enhance U.S. economic, technological, and scientific leadership in the space domain.