Aerospace component firm TrustPoint has received a $4-million contract to test the capabilities of its positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) network for the US Space Force.
The contract will see the design, deployment, and operation of a fully-integrated system built on four satellites and four ground stations with trilateration independent from traditional GPS signals.
Course guidance and plotting will be incorporated across various space and ground assets, operational services, and nodes.
The company said the PNT system will also demonstrate software-defined navigation services that can adapt in contested or degraded environments, supporting military and commercial users seeking resilient alternatives to GPS.
Work for the project will run for one year, with results to serve as a basis for similar applications while maintaining dependable performance and inexpensive solutions on larger satellite constellations.
Activities will be coordinated with the space force’s innovation arm SpaceWERX, and in partnership with the Commercial Space Office, which is funding the trials.
“We founded TrustPoint on the belief that resilient navigation does not require billion-dollar constellations,” said Patrick Shannon, CEO and founder of TrustPoint.
“This program will prove our technology’s GPS independence while demonstrating that real, operational PNT capability can be delivered with exceptional capital efficiency.”
