Tag Archives: PNT

William Nelson, director of the U.S. Army's cross-functional team for assured position, navigation and timing (PNT), said the service wants to maintain access to its future payloads hosted on non-Army satellites. The Army is now in talks with the U.S. Space Force, the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the intelligence community to achieve this goal.

 Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has moved the launch date of an upcoming geosynchronous orbit satellite from 2022 to 2023 due to a rideshare scheduling issue. The NTS-3 satellite is designed to provide positioning, navigation and timing for U.S. military operations. United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch the satellite through the National Security Space Launch program's USSF-106 mission. 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the final version of a document to guide the cybersecurity of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. NIST said Thursday its document titled “Foundational PNT Profile: Applying the Cybersecurity Framework for the Responsible Use of PNT Services” builds on input from the public on PNT data use.

President Trump has issued a directive mandating NASA, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the departments of Defense (DoD), State and Commerce (DOC) to coordinate and drive U.S. positioning, navigation and timing programs. Space Policy Directive 7 seeks to sustain and modernize global position system infrastructure for U.S. and allied operations focused on economic, homeland and national security. 

The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology (DHS S&T) Directorate has developed a framework on the security of position, navigation and timing systems when used to provide timing information for the power grid and communication networks. TS&T built the framework on stakeholder input and plans to have it publicly released before the year ends.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created draft cybersecurity guidelines for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)-based technologies. The draft guidance also serves as a response to an Executive Order issued earlier this year on the responsible use of PNT services for national security. Comments on the draft guide are due on Nov. 23rd.

The U.S. Army is looking to award a contract by the end of the month for the service branch’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) effort aimed at establishing an alternative for GPS technologies. The Army intends to select an awardee for the Mounted Assured Position Navigation and Timing (MAPS) contract and deploy a prototype in two years. 

The U.S. Army plans to open a technology development hub for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities next month to support the service branch’s efforts to reduce dependency on GPS technologies. The Army’s PNT Modernization Office, which contains an Open Innovation Lab (OIL) will be located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and slated to open on Oct. 8th. 

Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider, acting chief technology and innovation officer for the U.S. Space Force, said the service is set to publish its 2020 science and technology roadmap and recognizes the need to work with industry to bring that plan to fruition.

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is looking for input that will help inform the Trump administration’s efforts to improve the resiliency of the nation’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) architecture.