U.S. Air Force Space Command celebrates 20 years of GPS service
Date: Thursday, June 25 @ 07:04:11 UTC
Topic:
The U.S. Air Force Space Command is celebrating 20 years since the Global Positioning Service (GPS) was declared fully operational on 17th July 1995.
On that date, 24 satellites were on orbit and providing service with 24-hour coverage worldwide, hence the Fully Operational Capability (FOC) status attributed as of that date.
Even prior to this, GPS had proved its worth in Operation Desert Storm where, for the first time, commanders were able to accurately pinpoint both their assets and their targets. This despite, at that time, only 16 satellites were available reducing coverage to about 19-hours per day.
Now GPS is as ubiquitous as electricity and clean water, we take it for granted and many have grown up with it. There are an estimated four billion GPS-enabled devices worldwide and the market is expected to be worth more than $26 billion by 2016.
As well as navigation, GPS is used for precision timing in finance industries and is being rolled out in commercial aviation, reducing the reliance on costly ground based infrastructure and allowing more direct routing and better use of airspace.
And the best bit, this global service, that billions of us rely on each and every day, is commanded and run by just seven people in one small room at Schriever Air Force Base.
Source: Air Force Space Command
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