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Could we not have invented GPS through completely civilian subsidies? Sure DARPA produces civilian applicable research as a side effect, but what about directl
by true_religion 9y ago
Could we not have invented GPS through completely civilian subsidies?
Sure DARPA produces civilian applicable research as a side effect, but what about directly funding civilian research instead?
- Neliquat 9y agoWe could have, but the money was not there for cqr navs, it was there for icbms.
- terravion 9y agoProbably not. The compelling use cases for the first 20 years of GPS were all military with a few survey applications essentially riding free. The equipment used to be many, many pounds and tens of thousands of dollars. Almost every other industry besides had a "better" short term solution to location that met their needs at a fraction of the initial price of GPS.