Satellite System Seen As Boon For Aviation, Car Safety
<H1>Satellite System Seen As Boon For Aviation, Car Safety</H1><H3>By Barbara Cook </H3>Washington, D.C. - President Clinton has signed a directive to allow consumer access to a highly accurate satellite navigation system developed by the Defense Department-a move that is expected to open up a lucrative market for the sophisticated tracking system in aviation, automobiles, recreation and personal use.
Known as the Global Positioning System, or GPS, the system relies on a network of 24 satellites orbiting 11,000 miles above the earth. A receiver placed anywhere on Earth is able to pinpoint its exact location by comparing the altitude, longitude and time transmitted by any three satellites. The location is accurate within 10 meters.
Traveler Assistance
Applications of the GPS technology will include airline navigation, where it will allow for more precise landings, reducing traffic congestion and noise; cruise-ship navigation; cars, allowing drivers to receive traffic information and directions; recreational activities, such as hiking and taking measurements at sporting events; and law enforcement, including the tracking of stolen vehicles.
In an auto accident, a car's cellular phone could automatically call for help and an emergency vehicle would be dispatched, said Transportation Secretary Federico Peña at a White House ceremony. He also noted that a blind person walking down city streets could wear a portable Global Positioning System receiver that would provide accurate locations and directions.
Bombing And Rescue
Although it was developed in the 1970s, GPS first came to public attention during the 1991 Persian Gulf War when the U.S. military used it to aim missiles with surgical precision. More recently, a GPS transmitter located downed American Air Force pilot Scott O'Grady in Bosnia, thus making it possible to effect his rescue.
The Global Positioning System has previously been used for some civililan applications, including Avis Rent A Car tests of "smart car" technology, but the Pentagon has only permitted access to a less precise satellite signal, retaining the highly accurate signals for military use.
$8 Billion Business
The United States already is a world leader in developing GPS technology and equipment, and it is expected that by eliminating restrictions on GPS, U.S. industry will be the main beneficiary of what is expected to be an $8 billion annual business, creating 100,000 new jobs by the year 2000. Civilian users will not be charged fees for using GPS technology.
The new policy will be phased in over the next several years to allow the military time to develop technology to protect its use of GPS from being intercepted in a combat situation.
Peña said that most people don't yet know what GPS is. But, he added, "five years from now, Americans won't know how we ever lived without it. GPS will change the way we live in the way cellular phones, fax machines and the Internet have impacted daily life."
Even with the less accurate signal available today, some GPS test applications have been successful. For example, airlines flying in the Pacific use GPS in areas not covered by conventional radar.