GPS exhibit opens soon at U.S. Air Force museum

On April 2, a new museum exhibit will open that focuses on the U.S. Air Force’s role in the management of GPS satellite systems.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is holding a grand opening event for the new GPS Exhibit from 2-3:30 p.m., with remarks by U.S. Air Force personnel involved with the exhibit followed by light refreshments.

The museum is located at 1100 Spaatz Street, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Riverside, Ohio.

On April 2, 2020 a new exhibit will open focusing on the U.S. Air Force role in the management of GPS satellite systems. (Artist’s concept: USAF)

History and Benefits. GPS began as a military navigation tool in the early 1960s. Later, the U.S. Air Force became the lead organization for developing the system. It manages the system, providing highly accurate position, navigation and timing information to users worldwide, for free.

The exhibit describes what GPS is and how it works by outlining satellite and ground systems and their historical development. It explains how atomic clocks and GPS satellites enable all kinds of important activities.

These include mapping and navigation for everyday users and the military, commerce, farming, construction, cell phone systems, the power grid, and climate research.

The exhibit also explains how satellite orbits work, and it outlines the problem of “space junk.”

Hands-on. Interactives and videos help all ages better understand GPS, learn how to find their location on the Earth, and see how orbits and satellites work.

The museum will be open late on opening day, allowing guests to tour the museum until 8 p.m., with an opportunity to walk inside an AC-130A. The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft.

The exhibit opening will take place in the Space Gallery (fourth building).