3 ms·

GPS is a military technology opened to civilians... going the other way feels different, for whatever reason.

• nradov 8y ago
  No, GPS was actually designed from the start as a dual military and civilian system. The only part that wasn't originally available to civilians was the high precision signal.
  • sdinsn 8y ago
    > GPS was actually designed from the start as a dual military and civilian system No, what prompted GPS to be opened to civilian uses was KAL007 being shot down by the Soviet Union. [1] 269 killed, including a US Rep. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007
    • nradov 8y ago
      No, as usual Wikipedia isn't quite accurate. Here's an actual interview with the "father of GPS". "BRAD PARKINSON: Absolutely. And there are a lot of misconceptions about that. You hear people saying, well it was a military system and eventually made a civil system. That was not true. When I testified before Congress back about 1975, I said this is a combination military civil system." https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/how-gps-found-its-way/ https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/how-gps-found-its-way...