David Flynn22 May 2009, 8:00 AM
Delays in launching new satellites could see the current GPS system start to fail as early as next year – leading to wrong directions, slower signal acquisition and black spots.
Maybe you’d better buy a new street directory just in case. Because one by one, the space borne tin cans which make up our invisible but indispensable GPS network will soon start to wink out as their batteries run dry or ageing components break down.
The US Air Force has a cool US$2 billion for upgrading the new work by launching new satellites so that the original birds can be retired, but although the first launch was slated for early 2007 the satellite still hasn’t left the ground. It’s now slated for lift-off in November this year, putting the GPS upgrade almost three years behind schedule.
A report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) claims that due to poor management and a lack of investment (because we all know that US$2bn doesn’t go very far), the oldest GPS satellites could fail next year, and put the entire GPS system into jeopardy.
“In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS satellites within cost and schedule goals” says the report. “It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption.”
“If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected. Such a gap in capability could have wide-ranging impacts on all GPS users.”