Thought you all would like to read this...<br>To give credit where credit is due, I found it here...<br><a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72646-0.html?tw=rss.index">http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72646-0.html?tw=rss.index
</a><br><br><strong>Feb. 14, 1989: GPS Enters Orbit<br></strong><br>By Tony Long| Also by this reporter<br>02:00 AM Feb, 14, 2007<br><br>1989: The first of 24 satellites that will comprise the global positioning system is put into orbit.
<br><br>GPS revolutionized navigation, both at sea and on land, by providing position reports with unprecedented, pinpoint accuracy. Each satellite is placed in a specific orbit at a specific altitude to ensure that four or five satellites are always within range from any point on the planet. A GPS receiver picks up signals from the satellites and trilaterates the data to fix the position.
<br><br>This satellite system is so valuable -- besides navigation, GPS has applications in map-making, land surveying and the accurate telling of time -- that even though it was developed and is maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense, it is made available without charge to anyone, anywhere on Earth.
<br><br>Although GPS has eliminated the need for determining a ship's position by shooting the sun or stars, no sailor worthy of the name would put to sea, even now, without the ability to use a sextant. Electronic navigation devices fail and even GPS isn't immune to the odd glitch, and the open ocean is a lonely place to be if you don't know where you are.
<br><br>(Source: Peter H. Dana, The Geographer's Craft Project; Wikipedia)<br><br>-- <br>Sincerely,<br>Matthew A. Shapiro<br>Multi-Systems, Inc<br><a href="http://msisolutions.com/">http://msisolutions.com/</a>