Harris Corp. wins bid for space vehicle

The contract, signed December 18, was awarded by the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC), the U.S. Air Force-led effort formed in November 2018 in response to demands for faster innovation in military space programs. According to SpaceNews.com, “the consortium provides an acquisition vehicle for everything from spacecraft, launch vehicles and ground systems.” Its membership base of approximately 200 small and large businesses, nonprofit organizations and academic research institutions compete for contracts, including new concept designs and advanced prototypes. According to a press release, the SpEC selected Harris as the prime system integrator to design, develop, integrate and test NTS-3, including ground mission applications. Scheduled to launch in 2022, the position, navigation and timing (PNT) satellite is programmed to simultaneously broadcast military and earth coverage signals at increased power levels, enabling operation in contested environments. The time keeping system will use diverse timing sources to improve mission stability, anomaly detection and correction. The system’s design will enable Harris to rapidly develop and deploy new waveforms to reprogram and update the satellite throughout its lifecycle. “The Harris solution extends beyond the traditional bounds of space-based reprogrammable payloads to enable new techniques to combat evolving threats,” said Chris Forseth, vice president and general manager, Harris Space Superiority business. Harris will leverage its 40-plus years of Harris GPS and space antenna expertise to support all phases of the project. Harris’ expertise in creating and sending GPS signals extends back to the mid-1970s, with the company providing navigation technology for every U.S. GPS satellite ever launched. Originally developed for warfighters, millions of people around the world and billions of dollars of commerce now depend on the accurate, reliable GPS signal created and sent by Harris navigation technology. Harris Corporation’s worldwide headquarters is in Melbourne, Florida. The company employs 21,000 people around the world.