GPS is all the rage in personal navigation. In fact, it’s so popular that most travel stops and gas stations don’t even carry maps anymore. Through the GPS network, even smart phones can act as navigation systems. It all seems so contemporary, but GPS is old military technology. GPS stands for global tracking system, and it is run by a series of satellites maintained by the U.S. Government. It has been available to civilians since 1989 under the directive of Ronald Reagan.
As early as World War II, the military was using radio signals to help with navigation. By 1963, the beginning of the current GPS program was under way. It increased the accuracy of Air Force bombers as well as made it easy to pin point exactly where anyone was at any given time. The satellites that navigate the GPS system have atomic clocks in them to make the system as accurate as possible. By 2000, President Clinton allowed all people the highest level of access to the system. Even so, the government still has the ability to block anyone they perceive as a threat from using the system.
This high level of access allows GPS devices to be accurate within 65 feet. As long as there is no interference, a traveler should get exactly where he is going. Of course there is always the pubic fear that GPS can be used to spy on people. With an atomic clock manning the satellite, GPS certainly can tell anyone wanting to know exactly where you were at exactly what time. The likelihood of putting resources into that kind of spying on private citizens is pretty unlikely. It would simply be too cost prohibitive, but in the case of finding a fugitive, the system could be used to the public’s advantage.