“(The authors) tell an interesting story of how humans adapted an existing technology to provide benefits unseen by their original creators, a theme common in the history of technology….Ultimately, GPS Declassified achieves the authors’ goal of introducing the reader to important elements of the story of the development of GPS.”–Raymond O’Mara, H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences
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H-Net Reviews – Raymond O’Mara
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Quest – Roger D. Launius
“… A solid basic history of the subject. As an introduction it is quite useful. It also seeks, in the authors’ minds, to correct what they view as errors and omissions in the GPS origins story. Finally, it tells quite a number of stories about the uses of GPS and how the technology has changed our lives, and then they go on to project possibilities for uses yet to be realized. This is a useful work about a complex topic.”
–Roger D. Launius, Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, vol 22, no 1
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Phoenix Patriot Magazine Article Cites GPS Declassified
Keely Grasser, author of “From Duct Tape to Drones: Military Inventions That Impact our World,” in the Winter 2015 edition of Phoenix Patriot Magazine, interviewed Richard Easton and Eric Frazier for background information on GPS, one of eight innovations covered in the article. The key point she makes: GPS technology has spread throughout so many military, commercial and consumer industries that economists now find it impossible to accurately put a dollar figure on its overall worldwide impact.
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Richard Easton Discusses GPS with Business Insider
Business Insider recently spoke with Richard Easton for input on its article, How Does GPS Work?
Richard noted that while GPS costs about $1 billion a year to maintain and replenish, it produces perhaps $100 billion per year in economic benefits, quite a “bang for our buck.”
Applications for GPS continue to expand, owing largely to a decision made at the beginning–to make the system passive. GPS satellites broadcast one-way signals, like a radio station, meaning an unlimited number of users can share them without transmitting anything back to the satellite, which would saturate the system and limit its use.
Photo via GPS.gov
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Spaceflight – Off the Shelf
“This book sets the record straight on just how remarkable has been the rise and rise of position-determination–the Global Positioning System, or GPS….(The) writers have combined their considerable talents to tell a highly readable story about the development of satellite navigation system….The book is a good primer and a stimulus to the more challenging aspects of what is now one of the fastest growing sectors in space applications.”
—Spaceflight, Vol. 56, July 2014, a British Interplanetary Society publication
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Choice Reviews – M.W. Carr
“This book expertly weaves the story of GPS development and its ever-expanding use….Highly recommended.”
–Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (ALA), May 2014, by M.W. Carr
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“From Harrison to GPS” – Richard Easton at The Explorers Club, NYC
Public Lecture Series feat. Richard Easton – May 5, 2014 from The Explorers Club on Vimeo.
From Harrison to GPS – This lecture traces the development of navigation from the 18th century longitude problem to the invention of the Global Positioning System. Easton will describe the two major proposed solutions to the longitude problem: accurate clocks as developed by John Harrison and observations of celestial objects such as lunars and the Jovian moons. He will then trace the history of satellite navigation proposals culminating in GPS which combines the two 18th century proposals, putting accurate synchronized clocks in satellites which are artificial celestial objects.
Full Website Listing & Description:
http://www.explorers.org/index.php/events/detail/nyc_lecture_series_w_richard_easton
June 9, 2014 · 10:41 pm
NRL, Media mark the passing of Roger Easton
Following the death of Roger L. Easton on May 8, the Naval Research Laboratory and numerous media outlets have published tributes to his life as a scientist and inventor. Follow the links below to read a selection of these stories:
Roger L. Easton, former head of the Space Applications Branch at the Naval Research Laboratory, a few years before he retired in 1980.
(Naval Research Laboratory)
Tech Crunch – Roger Easton, Father of GPS, Dies at 93
Bloomberg – Roger Easton, GPS Developer for Satellite Navigation, Dies at 93
Valley News – A Life: Roger Lee Easton Sr., 1921 — 2014; ‘Most of All, He Was a Solver of Problems’
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Richard Easton on The Space Show
Following the death of his father, Roger Easton, Richard talked with Dr. David Livingston, host of The Space Show, about his father’s groundbreaking work with satellites and accurate clocks, leading to the development of the Timation satellite navigation system and ultimately GPS. Listen to the podcast here.
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