To be a superpower is to have a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)

And America's GPS -- like our POTUS candidates -- is getting scary old

Truly nifty article in NYT (lots of cool graphics quasi animated) with the scary title of “Why GPS is Under Attack.”

The why part is pretty mundane: in combat zones, one seeks to deny the use of GPS to others (i.e., jamming signals). Those denial zones wreak some havoc on GPS, the premier GNSS. Israel, for example, does this to thwart Hamas rockets, but that makes commercial jet travel around Israel a bit iffy (Are we in Iranian airspace?).

“GPS satellites blanket the world with two pieces of information: where they are in orbit and what time it is. The time it takes for a signal to reach your cellphone lets it know how far it is from the satellite.”

For example:

This year alone, researchers say, more than 60,000 commercial flights have been hit by bogus GPS signals, which can confuse pilots.

Not good, says this frequent flier.

Here’s the real point of the article:

The American GPS network that was once the gold standard is at risk of becoming a relic as Chinese, Russian and European systems modernize.

There are four extant truly GNSSs out there:

1. GPS (Global Positioning System): the most widely used by far and the most recognized (GPS is the Kleenex of GNSSs). Been around since 1978 (military-only use) and made globally available in 1994 (I remember the debates inside the Pentagon about what happens when anybody can use!). Clearly, the gold standard.

2. GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema) is the second most used globally, with full planetary coverage since 1995 (note that date) and it is often paired with GPS (redundancy) in many multi-GNSS receivers (gadgets that tap more than one GNSS).

3. China's BeiDou system — the up and comer. Just went truly global in 2018 and its usage is skewed toward Asia and any state participating in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative — go figure.

4. EU’s Galileo system is the newest global-level system. Use is mostly centered in Europe but it is catching up globally.