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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the ninth GPS III satellite built by Lockheed Martin on Jan. 27.
AURORA, Colorado—Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Space Force are testing several new technologies aboard the next GPS III satellite, including a new digital atomic clock.
Current GPS satellites carry a rubidium atomic frequency standard clock that provides the precision timing used for banking, telecommunications, and defense systems like radar and navigation systems. The 10th GPS III satellite, scheduled to launch in early 2026, will carry a new digital version, Lockheed Martin Vice President for Navigation Systems Malik Musawwir told reporters Feb. 23 at the Air and Space Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here.
The goal is to demonstrate a new technology “that’s still in its core, the same chemistry, the same technology that makes the atomic container what it is,” Musawwir said, but with different backbone electronics that are proprietary to the undisclosed supplier, he said. During the demonstration, Lockheed Martin and the Space Force can switch the different clocks on and off, testing their performance across applications and use cases.
The new digital clock is about the same size and weight as those currently used for GPS satellites, he said. If the demonstration is successful, it could provide additional supply chain resiliency by allowing Lockheed Martin to tap two vendors in the future, he noted.
“Now, you have two separate support providers that are providing two qualified technologies that we can pick and choose how we want to use,” he said.
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