On 26 December, a European satellite is set to lift off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and, once in orbit 23,000 kilometers above Earth’s surface, start transmitting time signals. Although small–roughly the size of a freezer–the satellite GIOVE-A is the start of something big.
The craft is the first test bed for Europe’s answer to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. Dubbed Galileo, the European system, like GPS, will consist of a constellation of satellites carrying atomic clocks. A receiver can use their signals to calculate its position to an accuracy of a few meters. Combining Galileo with GPS will double the number of transmitters, and with Galileo’s updated technology, researchers expect it to bring a sharp improvement in quality and reliability, which in turn will enable new studies of the atmosphere and oceans. The system might even provide a way of watching for tsunamis.
GPS receivers have become so cheap that they’re widely used by hikers and drivers. But GPS remains a military system, and the Pentagon can degrade or even turn off the signal in times of crisis. Galileo, in contrast, has been designed with business in mind. “Guarantee of service is the basic difference,” says Dominique Detain of the European Space Agency, which is developing Galileo jointly with the European Union.
Researchers are also excited about a technique that detects satellite navigation signals bounced off the ocean surface. A team from the University of Surrey in Guildford, U.K., demonstrated the technique earlier this year, deriving sea surface roughness from reflected GPS signals. But the Galileo signal has extra features that may also allow researchers to measure wave height and the height of the ocean surface.
Galileo has sort of become “the rest of the world” vs. the Pentagon. At least in the minds of folk who think the Master of the Universe should live on Pennsylvania Avenue. Fortunately, the rest of the world considers the project to be mutually beneficial.
When I first heard about this effort a few years ago I had to wonder, “why?” and I’m still asking that. I suppose I don’t blame the Europeans for wanting their own if the US might deny them access to it. These days, GPS is essential.
The United States is focused on more important stuff for satellite technology, like talk radio and television watching. I’m waiting for Microsoft to launch a video game satellite that works with the futuristic Xbox 360. That will be the next big thing until Google launches a satellite.
They have the inside track with NASA. The space race goes on. A satellite is basically a server that doesn’t crash.
GPS is essential if you are lost. If you plan a trip or a mission properly you can get there or get the job done without it. You can do the same thing with a compass, maps and charts. GPS doesn’t ensure that you will get back. It does make a nifty dashboard gadget and Christmas gift for the person who needs everything. I was at a store looking for a compass and they quit selling them. The guy wanted to sell me a $149.00 GPS unit. I really didn’t need that much technology. I guess it would be nice to have. I finally found a compass which was made in China, so I didn’t buy it. Do we still make a compass in the USA? I’ve been looking for one.
The Galileo system will provide a better service than GPS, better performance and will be free of the greasy political and military entanglements of the GPS system. A considered arguement for Galileo is that, any privatization of the GPS systems management, inevitable in this increasingly corporate world, will lead to multinationals having the capacity and the ability to “switch off” GPS in countries who won’t play their game.
Galileo should have no military value at all. It should be a great toy for college kids and eccentric professors to wage peace. With the European Union the whole system will also have no political value either. It may be the most expensive watch ever built. The French can be sure to be fashionable late. The nice thing about time is that it’s flexible. If you are a little late you can come up with an excuse if you are in the right place. Maybe GPS watches will be the next big thing in gadgetry. A GPS watch for 20 bucks would sell.
It’s Watch War 2.0
http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/quartz/global/index.html
At the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show in January 1976, Texas Instruments shocked its competition by introducing the first $20 watch line.
By May of 1977 TI had cut its price on its model 503 sports watch to $9.95, making it the first electronic watch sold for under $10.
This was an idea. The TV watch in the Fall of 1983.
http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/quartz/coolwatches/tvwatch.html
Now it’s the TV phone and video ipod. The screen is too damn small.
It’s back to the future via ghosts of Christmas watches past.
“For those who demand the highest precision at all times, there are now watches that synchronize automatically to radio signals based on atomic time standards. In 1991 Junghans Uhren GmbH of Germany marketed the Mega 1, the first radio-controlled wristwatch ever sold. It receives signals in Central Europe within the range of the transmitter near Frankfurt/Main.”
“Citizen Watch Co. of Japan followed in 1993 with an analog radio-controlled watch capable of receiving radio waves from multiple stations.”
We are now nearing Mega 2.0. I wonder if you will need a remote control. The TV remote watch may be the best idea, besides the GPS TV remote. Honey, where’s the remote? A thing of the past.
Put a GPS Tag in everything throw in a little Google Maps and you will never need your brain to think again. If the fridg is going to tell us that we are out of Milk based on the fact the the trash is seeing it’s RFID tag, we are going to need something to help us find our keys, find the dog, find the car find the store — find your life.
“But GPS remains a military system, and the Pentagon can degrade or even turn off the signal in times of crisis. Galileo, in contrast, has been designed with business in mind.”
Is any one besides me worried about rogue nations and terrorists using this to improve the accuracy of their weapons.
I remember rumors (yea I know, another rumor) that Saddam Hussein was trying to build his own unmanned flying bomb. What would Iran be able to do with a nuke, a highly accurate GPS system and a guided plane or missile?
Right now there are two complete GPS systems running. The US runs one (NAVSTAR) and the Russians have their own (GLONASS).
The little side bar about the US system is that the government can shut off services to civilian GPS products at any time. The military has a system in place to access services in these circumstances. The Russians have something in place that serves the same purpose.
In the world of GPS guided military systems there were only two players in town, the US and Russia.
If someone thinks Galileo will have no significant military usage they are only fooling themselves.
Countries like France who, for all their “stances” against war, has a huge interest in Galileo. As of right now they cannot sell GPS supported arms outside NATO. Galileo will free them from this restriction.
I guess anything could have a military use. We used inflatable fake tanks in World War Two. I guess GPS could be fooled with a clever hack. You can’t do this with an old fashioned compass, unless you can hack the Earths magnetic field. The terrorists get a GPS weapon in place. The DoD hacks them and they start blowing up themselves with their own inventions. Sounds like a plan!
Somebody said something about a satellite is a server that doesn’t crash. You might want to ask DirectV about that, they own a couple of very expensive, non-functioning orbital door stops. In the last year or so I think they’ve had two that just up and quit.