TAG: GPS heroes

At the JPO. Frank Butterfield of Aerospace, Col. Parkinson, and Cdr. Bill Huston, deputy JPO director from the U.S. Navy, in the early 1970s. A model of a Phase I GPS satellite stands on the table between the latter two. (Credit: Bradford W. Parkinson and Stephen T. Powers)

Part 2: The Origins of GPS, Fighting to Survive

June 1, 2010

GPS Phase I program approval meant that the real work could begin. The conclusion of a two-part history, told by the people who made it.


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Mathematician Bill Guier (l) and physicist George Weiffenbach (r), told APL Research Center director Frank T. McClure (c), about their success using Doppler tracking for satellites. “McClure’s brain started going into fast forward,” remembered John Dassoulas. “Knowing the navigational challenges the U.S. Navy faced, McClure said, ‘Well, if you can find out where the satellite is, you ought to be able to turn that problem upside down and find out where you are.’" (Credit: Bradford W. Parkinson and Stephen T. Powers)

Part 1: The Origins of GPS, and the Pioneers Who Launched the System

May 1, 2010

The original system study, the key innovations, and the forgotten heroes of the world’s first — and still greatest — global navigation satellite system. True history, told by the people who made it. Part One of a Two-Part Special Feature.


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This article is tagged with , , , and posted in From the Magazine, OEM