History of GPS – Part II
Monday, March 23rd, 2009ÂÂÂÂÂInitial Challenges of GPS Development
Almost immediately after launching, the Global Positioning System faced serious obstacles to continued growth and development. The biggest hurdle was financial. Although GPS technology received support from all branches of the military, it was not a standard weapons system, and its function was not as straightforward and well-defined as other military research opportunities vying for government dollars. In 1979, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) slashed the program’s budget by about 30 percent. As a result, the satellite design was significantly scaled down, and the plan for a 24-satellite constellation was temporarily reduced to 18. The development of Block IIs, the next generation of modern GPS satellites, was placed on hold. From 1980 to 1982, the program was altogether eliminated until the OSD rallied for its continued survival. The joint program office, a collaboration of the U.S. military branches overseeing GPS research, also argued for the importance of the technology in military applications by emphasizing the advantage of increased bombing accuracy.
