Lifehack Literacy: History of GPS

Nowadays, finding a destination, checking the distance, and choosing the best route can be done easily using a smartphone. This technology has become a part of our daily lives, but we may not yet know what is behind it.

The technology behind this is the Global Positioning System (GPS), which has made our lives much easier today. The popularity of this tool is inseparable from the history of GPS. 

This technology has been around since it was first introduced in 1958 for military purposes. Let’s delve deeper into the history of GPS to enhance our technological literacy and understand the story behind the technology we use.

What is GPS?

Before delving further into the history of GPS, you first need to understand what this technology actually is. GPS is inseparable from satellites.

It is part of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). GPS works by using satellite signals for position measurement, navigation, and timing.

To measure everything GPS requires, more than 30 satellites orbiting the Earth are needed. They orbit twice a day along predetermined paths.

These satellites circling the Earth transmit unique signals and orbital parameters. Next, the signal codes are decoded by ground-based equipment to calculate the time and determine the satellites’ precise positions.

History of GPS

The history of GPS technology is similar to that of other technologies (such as the history of wireless or the history of Bluetooth), whose development began with something quite simple. GPS was developed based on changes in the intensity of radio waves from satellites—a phenomenon known at the time as the Doppler effect. 

The first satellite launched was Sputnik 1, owned by the Soviet Union in 1957. From there, scientists at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in the United States began researching how to measure the distance from the satellite. This later became known as the principle of trilateration. This principle marked the beginning of the GPS’s development.

1. It all started with military technology

Initially, the history of GPS began with its implementation by the US military for national defense purposes. The US Navy had two satellite navigation programs: Transit and Timation.

Transit was developed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense that built upon the research of scientists at Johns Hopkins University. 

ARPA was responsible for developing new technologies for use by the U.S. military. In 1958, they developed satellite signal monitoring technology named Transit. Consequently, in 1960, ARPA launched its own satellite.

As development continued, Transit matured further. By 1965, the program was fully transferred to the U.S. Navy. 

The U.S. military officially had 36 satellites orbiting Earth by 1968. Transit technology provided accuracy down to tens of meters. This nearly doubled the accuracy of maps of Earth’s land areas.

In addition to Transit, the U.S. Navy also had Timation (Time Navigation), which researched atomic clocks in satellites. This research was conducted by the Naval Center for Space Technology (Naval Center for Space Technology) under the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), continuing research previously conducted by The Aerospace Corporation.

The Timation satellite was launched three times: the first in 1967, the second in 1968, and the third in 1974. 

2. The Origin of the Name GPS 

When the military was developing satellite navigation systems for Transit and Timation, the name Global Positioning System (GPS) was not yet in use. The name first appeared in 1972.

The name was introduced by Air Force Colonel Bradford Parkinson, who led the development of a concept that synthesized the best aspects of Transit, Timation, and Project 621-B. This concept took shape in a system called the Navigation System for Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (Navstar GPS). 

It was this concept that marked the beginning of the GPS name becoming widely known. This system measures one-way passive distance using 24 satellites equipped with atomic clocks in medium Earth orbit.

In 1978, four Navstar satellites were officially launched. The first, launched in February, was the GPS Block I, which was still in the development phase. By the end of the year, three additional Navstar satellites were launched.

3. Beginning of Civilian Use

The history of GPS is inextricably linked to military needs. Just like other technologies that were initially developed for military purposes, it eventually became necessary for civilian use as well.

1983 marked the beginning of GPS’s use for civilian navigation. The U.S. President at the time, Ronald Reagan, finally authorized the use of Navstar for civilian commercial airlines, intending to improve air travel safety.

Since then, industries outside the military have rushed to develop GPS devices.

The Magellan NAV 1000 from Magellan Corporation became the first officially released handheld GPS unit in 1989. This unit weighed 1.5 pounds and was priced at around $3,000.

As GPS systems became available for civilian use, the demand for satellites continued to rise. By 1989, the GPS Block II satellite was launched via a Delta II rocket.

The adoption of GPS for civilian use was not without obstacles; the U.S. government feared this technology could be exploited by adversaries for tracking and countermeasures. Ultimately, the U.S. Department of Defense decided to adjust the system to reduce its accuracy in non-military applications (known as “selective availability”).

4. The Adoption of GPS in Various Devices

The history of GPS development has encouraged electronics companies around the world to create products incorporating this technology. In 1999, Benefon released the Benefon Esc, the first GPS-enabled mobile phone. 

In line with this, in 2000, the U.S. government also approved a plan to add three GPS signals for non-military use. This also brought an end to the “selective availability” program. 

As a result, GPS signals for civilians became 10 times more accurate. Not only that, but the price of GPS receivers and processing chips also dropped to $1.50.

GPS Today 

The history of GPS outlined above has brought us to where we are today. This technology has not stood still; in fact, it continues to evolve. The current focus is on the GPS III satellites, which began launching in 2018 using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

This was followed by the launch of the second satellite using a ULA Delta IV rocket in 2019. Subsequently, the third and fourth GPS III satellites were launched using Falcon 9 rockets in 2020. Then, six more satellites were launched in 2023.

These latest satellites offer significantly enhanced capabilities compared to previous generations. They provide three times better accuracy, even in dense urban environments.

For military and critical infrastructure, the GPS III satellite has up to eight times the anti-jamming capability. It also has a service life of up to 15 years.

Currently, GPS is used for a wide range of purposes, from air traffic control, automotive navigation, weather and scientific applications, to computer and mobile telematics. Many businesses also benefit from GPS, including construction companies, taxi services, car dealerships, and many others. 

GMPS III is a highly reliable fleet management and equipment tracking solution in challenging environments. Older GPS systems struggle to track vehicles in multi-level parking garages, crowded work sites, and narrow urban areas.

Regardless of how this technology continues to evolve, it will always be rooted in its early history. That is the history of GPS, which can enhance your technological literacy. In this way, you will understand that the process of establishing digital communication standards has a long history.

An understanding of this wireless technology will be beneficial as technology advances in the future. When would you like to discuss the history of other technologies?