As part of its DemoSat launch in January 2023, U.S. defense contractor CACI International intends to demonstrate a supporting navigation technology for military use.
The technology is two-way time transfer and clock modeling technology. The low size, weight, and power (SWaP) space-based PNT is expected to significantly improve multi-platform remote sensing.
The company will launch two demonstration payloads on a York Space Systems satellite scheduled to fly to low Earth orbit in January aboard the SpaceX Transporter 7 rideshare. The payload will contain an alternative positioning, navigation and timing solution that will work in a contested space domain. It is designed to support GPS.
Should the experiment be a success, CACI plans to offer the two-way time transfer PNT service to the military and other government agencies.
“CACI expertise, systems, and technology help our customers maintain dominance in the increasingly contested space environment,” Mike Hale, executive vice president of CACI’s Advanced Solutions Group was quoted saying. “We are very proud that CACI is launching a DemoSat payload into orbit – distinguishing our mission technology and transformative solutions for customer success.”
CACI has completed the critical design review for the DemoSat. CACI and its partner York Space Systems will also demonstrate a tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (TacISR) payload. The TacISR payload identifies and captures key signals of interest and operates with CACI’s Beast ground receiver to demonstrate real-time radiofrequency geolocation for deployed U.S. forces.
