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TheTimationsatellites were conceived, developed, and launched by theUnited States Naval Research Laboratory inWashington, D.C. beginning in 1964. The concept of Timation was to broadcast an accurate time reference for use as a ranging signal to receivers on the ground.
On 31 May 1967, the Timation 1 satellite was launched.[1][2] This was followed by the Timation 2 (NRL-PL 169) satellite launch in 1969.[1][2]
In 1973 the U.S. Navy Timation and the Air Force System 621B navigation system (known as the DNSS - Defense Navigation Satellite System) are consolidated by the Deputy Secretary of Defense.[3]
Two more advanced Timation satellites are launched.[3] NTS-1 - Navigation Technology Satellite (Timation 3) is launched in 1974,[3][4] while NTS-2 (Timation 4) is launched in 1977.[5]
The results of this program and Air Force Project 621B formed the basis for theGlobal Positioning System (GPS). The Navy's contribution to the GPS program continued to be focused on ever more accurate clocks.[6]
There is a historical connection between accurate time keeping, navigation, and theNavy. In 1714, theBritish government passed theLongitude Act (seelongitude prize) to create an incentive to solve the problem of navigation at sea. The solution, developed byJohn Harrison, was an accurate clock which could compare local time toGreenwich, England time. To this day,Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the successor ofGreenwich Mean Time (GMT), is the reference time for the planet, and in theUnited States, the official time for theDepartment of Defense (DoD) is kept by theUnited States Navy at theU.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. This is kept insynchronization with the official civilian time reference maintained byNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and contributes to theInternational Atomic Time.[7]
| Satellite | Launch | Launch Pad | Launcher | NSSDC ID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timation 1 | 31 May 1967 | SLC 2W | Thor-DM21 Agena-D[1] | 1967-053E[2] | withPoppy 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D;Calsphere 3, 4; NRL-PL 150B and OPS 5712 |
| Timation 2 | 30 September 1969 | SLC 1W | Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D[1] | 1969-082B[2] | with Poppy 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D; Tempsat 2; SOICAL Cone, Cylinder; Weston; NRL-PL 176 |
| NTS-1 (Timation 3) | 14 July 1974 | SLC 3W | Atlas F PTS[4] | 1974-054A[4] | |
| NTS-2 (Timation 4) | 23 June 1977 | SLC 3W | Atlas F SGS-1[5] | 1977-053A[5] |
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