Smithsonian
  • Navigating
    at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating
    in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating
    in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation
    for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition

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Time and Navigation Home
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Time and Navigation
The untold story of getting from here to there.
Home

Search form

  • Navigating at Sea
  • Navigating in the Air
  • Navigating in Space
  • Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research Journal
  • Visit the Exhibition
  • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Navigation Gone Wrong: Soviets Shoot Down an Airliner
  • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Inertial Navigation
      • Charles Stark Draper
      • Developing Inertial Navigation
    • The First Satellite Navigation System
      • Transit Satellites
      • Navigating a Submarine
    • Improving Satellite Navigation
      • Clocks in Space
      • Evolving Solutions
  • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • GPS Begins
    • The Satellite Constellation
    • Synchronized Accurate Time
    • Risks to the System
    • International Systems
  • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
    • Military Applications
    • Civilian Applications
      • The Commercial Market
      • Improving Accuracy
      • Looking Ahead

Explore More

Supplies Being Dropped by a Cargo Plane »
PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) »
Magellan 2000 XL, 1996 »
The RQ-16 T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle  »
System Maintenance »

Improving Satellite Navigation

Before GPS, several satellite systems were developed to provide time and navigation services.

During the Cold War, U.S. defense planners sought a global navigation system that would be more accurate than the Navy’s Transit system and be available at all times. Several groups of government and military researchers independently designed different systems to address this need.

  • Clocks in Space »

    The development of additional solutions for satellite improvements.

  • Evolving Solutions »

    The development of satellite time for civilian use.

520-p-144220a.jpg

NRL’s NTS-2 Team
The NTS-2 Development Team at the Naval Research Laboratory.
Credit: Naval Research Laboratory

520_nts-2_satellite_diagram.jpg

NTS-2 Satellite
This illustration shows the important components of the NTS-2 satellite.
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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  • Navigating at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition
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