Many scientists worked in the various research teams developing GPS, but three men in particular have received multiple awards for their work.
Ivan Getting, a physicist and electrical engineer at MIT, established the basis for GPS, improving on the Second World War land-based radio system called Loran (Long Range Radio Aid to Navigation).
The idea of GPS emerged from his experiences during World War II, which made him realize the importance of knowing exact locations in combat.
Space satellites opened up the possibility of a new global navigation system.
Day to day development and management of GPS during 1970s was the responsibilities of Colonels Bradfr0rd Parkinson of the air force. Bradford Parkinson was a USAF colonel and a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, who conceived the present satellite-based system in the early 1960s, and developed it in conjunction with the US Air Force. His idea of using satellites is to replace the outdated aviation-related instrument Landing System and the expensive Microwave Landing System.
Getting remained involved nonetheless, and another person was Roger Easton. Roger Easton is the principal inventor and designer of the GPS, and in 1955 he co-wrote the successful proposal of a US satellite programme, name Project Vanguard.
Easton was the inventor of TIMATION (Time Navigation) in his patent entitled Navigation System Using Satellites and Passive Ranging Techniques.
The current GPDS is based on the TIMATION system, and their principles of operation are fundamentally identical.
The NAVSTAR-GPS project was officially launched in 1973 by the US Department of Defense to design and deploy a positioning service with global coverage and continuous-time availability.
The first satellite was first launched into orbit in February 1978. The air force keeps twenty-eight satellites in orbit at all times, four as backups to ones that might fail.
The GPS was originally developed for authorized military use only, and subsequently was released for civil users in 1983.
In 1989, the first satellite for the current GPS was launched and by 1994 the last of the 24 satellites was launched, creating what is the NAVSTAR satellite system.
Invention of Global Positioning System
