The Development Of Global Navigation

Who really invented GPS?

As with most inventions, there is usually a race to receive the credit, and time later unravels a collection of contributors. The invention of the GPS was no exception to this rule.

The technology is similar to radio systems that were developed in the 1940’s.

In 1960, the U.S. Navy successfully tested the first satellite navigation system, called Transit.

In 1963, the Space Division of the U.S. Air Force initiated a project, known as Project 621B. The 621B Project would eventually evolve into the Navstar program. The 621B system was tested using aircraft between 1968 and 1971. It was Ivan Getting who was in charge of the 621B Project.  He was the first president of  Aerospace.

In 1964, the Timation satellites were conceived and developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, in Washington, D.C.  On May 31, 1967, the Timation-1 satellite was launched, which placed accurate clocks in space.

Although many ideas had been proposed, it was the Cold War that actually justified the cost of further research, which would run into billions of dollars. The Sputnik Rocket was launched at 19:28:34 UTC, on October 4, 1957. The launch of the Sputnik (The New York Times) created a panic in America and initiated the Space Race to come. The Russians had scored big time with the launching of the Sputnik. The Americans were embarrassed and were hard pressed to get back in the race.

On Labor Day weekend of 1973, 12 officers would meet to plan the creation of the Defense Navigation Satellite System (DNSS), later in the year would be called Navstar-GPS; now simply known as GPS. Bradford Parkinson was going to be the program manager.

Bradford Parkinson would play a significant role in the development of the GPS, but many others should be recognized for their contributions as well. Roger Easton, who was head of the Naval Research Laboratory team, deserves attention for the invention of the GPS. While Parkinson rightfully should get the credit for successfully developing the program, it is clear that others should be rewarded for their contributions. (Who invented the Global Positioning System? by Richard Easton, The Space Review, Monday, May 22, 2006)

In 1978, the first experimental Block-I GPS satellite was launched.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced that the GPS would be made available for civilian uses.

By January 17, 1994 a complete constellation of 24 satellites was in orbit.

Full Operational Capability was declared by NAVSTAR in April 1995.

On May 19, 2009, the U. S. Government Accountability Office issued a report warning that some GPS satellites could fail as soon as 2010.

Now the Global Positioning System (GPS) is undergoing an $8 billion upgrade, which will make it even more accurate. The new system is designed to pinpoint someone’s location within an arm’s length, compared with a margin of error of 20 feet or more today (LA Times).

Under the $8-billion upgrade, Boeing Co.’s Space and Intelligence Systems in El Segundo is building 12 satellites the size of sport-utility vehicles, and 18 others will be assembled by Lockheed Martin Corp. in Denver. Twenty-four will go into orbit and six will be reserved as spares.

The new satellites will also triple the amount of signals available for commercial use and will have atomic clocks that are even more precise — keeping time to a fraction of a billionth of a second.