Tag Archives: Global Positioning System

January 9, 2019 · 5:46 pm

Richard Easton interviewed on TOCRadio Podcast

Richard kicked off the new year with an appearance on TOCRadio’s Podcast Episode 19. In a wide-ranging interview, hosts Wyatt Harper and Matt Schoenfeldt queried him about the historical development of GPS and the arrival of GPS III satellites, which are finally launching after years of delays. Richard debunked the common myth that President Ronald Reagan declassified GPS for its first civilian use, discussed how GPS impacted the Persian Gulf War, summarized ongoing challenges related to spoofing and jamming, and raised the policy issue posed by whether new military receivers should incorporate other GNSS signals.

TOCRadio is a military-themed podcast produced by LTC Matt Schoenfeldt and CPT Wyatt Harper.

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June 11, 2018 · 1:01 pm

NSSI Space Pro Reading List

While not a review, per se, perhaps the most appreciated feedback we have received regarding GPS Declassified was being selected by the Air Force’s National Security Space Institute for its 2016 Space Professionals Reading List.

Each year, NSSI surveys faculty members and other space experts for nominees and selects half a dozen titles to recommend to its students and alumni. Other Air Force trainers sometimes share the lists, and they have some longevity, as we were recently reminded by a friend, who sent us the photo below.

GPS Declassified is one of six titles chosen for the 2016 Space Professionals Reading List by NSSI

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October 4, 2017 · 3:23 pm

ION Newsletter Features Easton and Frazier

The Institute of Navigation Quarterly Newsletter, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Summer 2017), page 10, published a feature article, GPS Historians Spread a PNT Gospel,  about several recent public talks Richard Easton and Eric Frazier have presented, including one that appeared on C-SPAN’s American History TV.

The authors continue to mine historical factors in the development of GPS that provide relevant signposts for the technology going forward.

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May 30, 2017 · 10:44 pm

Easton and Frazier Speak at NY Military Affairs Symposium

On May 5, 2017, Richard Easton and Eric Frazier presented “GPS: American Invention, Global Impact” at the New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS) on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Eric F. Frazier speaks at the New York Military Affairs Symposium May 5, 2017Richard D. Easton speaks at the New York Military Affairs Symposium May 5, 2017

 

 

 

 

The talk focused on how GPS technology, which was conceived and developed in U.S. military laboratories to meet Cold War needs, has spawned a worldwide satellite navigation industry, with global revenues from devices themselves and added-value services enabled by them estimated by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) to reach €270 billion to €300 billion by 2025.

C-SPAN was on hand to videotape the presentation for its “American History TV” series. The AH schedule shows the first air date as 2 p.m., June 3, 2017, on C-SPAN3. Afterward, it will be available to watch online.

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May 5, 2017 · 7:00 pm

GPS: American Invention, Global Impact

The Global Positioning System, a technology invented in U.S. military laboratories, revolutionized war-fighting weapons, tactics and strategy. Contrary to common misconceptions, GPS development envisioned non-military uses from the start. Our deployment of GPS has driven other nations to invest large sums in competing worldwide systems and regional augmentation systems. GPS technology has permeated numerous commercial, scientific and civilian domains, delivering precise positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for activities from transportation to banking to social media. Its global impact today is broader and deeper than most people realize, as GPS has become an unseen but critical component of modern infrastructure.

In this talk, Richard D. Easton and Eric F. Frazier, coauthors of GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones, trace the development of GPS from its secret, Cold War roots to its emergence as a worldwide consumer industry and vital public utility.

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August 17, 2016 · 1:52 pm

SpyCast Interviews Richard Easton

SpycastSPY Historian Vince Houghton sat down with Richard Easton, co-author of GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones, to discuss the development of GPS and its role in the military, intelligence, and civilian domains. Easton’s father, Roger, led the Space Applications Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory from the Vanguard Satellite era to the early days of GPS development. Listen to the entire podcast.

 

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July 30, 2016 · 4:24 pm

Easton and Frazier Speak at Peterson AFB

Richard Easton and Eric Frazier were recently invited by the National Security Space Institute (NSSI), located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., to speak to students and faculty.

The two-day visit included a 90-minute presentation, July 21, as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series, hosted by Gen. John E. Hyten, Commander, Air Force Space Command.

Eric F. Frazier and Richard Easton speak at Peterson AFB as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series July 21, 2016Eric F. Frazier and Richard Easton speak at Peterson AFB as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series July 21, 2016

Eric F. Frazier and Richard Easton speak at Peterson AFB as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series July 21, 2016Easton TV-3 rotated

Eric F. Frazier and Richard Easton speak at Peterson AFB as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series July 21, 2016Eric F. Frazier and Richard Easton speak at Peterson AFB as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series July 21, 2016

Space Pro Reading ListBook Signing 1

The authors got a behind-the-scenes tour of the GPS ground control facility at nearby Schriever AFB and met more than a dozen of the over 100 members of the 2nd Space Operations Squadron, who keep the GPS constellation running smoothly 24/7.

Easton and Frazier presented their talk, “GPS: Military Asset, Public Utility,” five times in all, including to the space professionals community, to three classes of NSSI students from the United States and allies, and to a faculty gathering.

For two individuals who have devoted countless hours to researching the historical development of GPS, as well as its economic and sociological implications, Easton and Frazier consider it a rare treat to have the opportunity to meet the experts who manage GPS and see firsthand the facilities they operate.

View the entire talk at YouTube:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

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June 8, 2016 · 10:45 am

Time Synchronization and the Origins of GPS

Richard Easton will present a talk, “Time Synchronization and the Origins of GPS,” at the forthcoming conference, The Science of Time, June 5-9, 2016, hosted by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge.

Richard is scheduled to speak Wednesday, June 8, at 10:45. His talk will focus on how the need to synchronize clocks at widely separated satellite tracking stations sparked the idea of placing highly accurate clocks, and eventually atomic frequency standards, aboard satellites. This led directly to the Global Positioning System, which enabled worldwide time synchronization.

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April 5, 2016 · 1:31 pm

Richard Easton & Bleddyn Bowen on The Space Show

On April 1, 2016, Richard Easton and Dr. Bleddyn E. Bowen were guests on The Space Show, hosted by Dr. David Livingston. They discussed space history and strategies for space security. Bowen is a Teaching Fellow in strategy, military history, and intelligence studies at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Wales.

Listen to the podcast of the interview at the website:

http://www.thespaceshow.com/show/01-apr-2016/broadcast-2676-richard-easton-dr.-bleddyn-bowen

 

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December 21, 2015 · 4:18 pm

GPS Origin Myths in Popular Books

The Space Review recently published Richard Easton’s article, “GPS origins myths as propounded by Stephen Johnson and Annie Jacobsen.” In the article, he lists a number of credibility-shattering errors found in two popular books that have received positive reviews and (unjustifiable) praise for their scholarship.

In most instances, a simple Google search and an hour or so of reading the results would have informed the writers that the two satellite systems they conflate–Transit and GPS–were developed by different entities at different times and used different technologies.

Public ignorance and misunderstanding about GPS is widespread. That might not matter much, if it were not a system that taxpayers spend around $1 billion a year to maintain and that has become a vital public utility around the planet.  It is unfortunate that large publishers and media organizations unwittingly perpetuate errors and misunderstanding through lack of due diligence.

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