NTS-3

NTS-3 Vanguard is an experimental positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The satellite features a reprogrammable software architecture spanning the spacecraft, the ground control system, and user receivers; an advanced atomic clock; and CHIMERA (Chips Message Robust Authentication), a system designed to detect and defend against GPS spoofing. From geosynchronous orbit, the satellite will conduct more than 100 technology tests over a planned two-year experimental phase.

Designated USSF-106, the mission marked the maiden flight of the Vulcan Centaur VC4S configuration - the first Vulcan variant to fly with four solid rocket boosters - and Vulcan's first operational NSSL mission, following two certification flights.