TrustPoint, an aerospace startup providing next-generation GNSS products and services, has launched the firm’s first satellite. The satellite, named “It’s About Time,” will allow TrustPoint to mature and demo core technologies as they progress toward delivering GPS-independent global time and positioning services.
Maverick Space Systems supported the launch of It’s About Time on SpaceX’s Transporter-7 Mission from Vandenberg Space Force base in California late Friday evening, August the 14th. This first mission will focus on testing, calibration and optimization of TrustPoint’s, smallsat-compatible, GNSS payload technology. After an initial commissioning period, TrustPoint will take control of the satellite and operate the spacecraft through a series of tests and demonstrations.
In a very few years, TrustPoint’s constellation will deliver secure, high precision, time and positioning services at a fraction of the cost of comparable offerings. This capability will help fortify existing critical applications and enable the proliferation of nascent use cases in autonomous navigation, national security and smart infrastructure.
“This launch marks a pivotal moment for aerospace innovation. TrustPoint’s new platform is the first commercially-funded, purpose-built PNT microsatellite. With this mission, we are expediting the impact of commercial technologies and innovation cycles on the world of timing and navigation, arguably one of the most far reaching and critical satellite services today.” — Patrick Shannon, CEO of TrustPoint
“TrustPoint has shown that New Space strategies enable rapid execution for even the most critical space capabilities. The team delivered a spacecraft in eight months, an incredible feat achieved during a challenging economic climate, at the peak of the silicon shortage. This is a key milestone as we scale our production, constellation, and capability.” — Chris DeMay, TrustPoint COO
TrustPoint is developing next-generation fully commercial GNSS services, to achieve the performance, security, and availability required for autonomous navigation, vital infrastructure management and augmented reality.
