Tag Archives: atomic clocks

January 9, 2019 · 5:46 pm

Richard Easton interviewed on TOCRadio Podcast

Richard kicked off the new year with an appearance on TOCRadio’s Podcast Episode 19. In a wide-ranging interview, hosts Wyatt Harper and Matt Schoenfeldt queried him about the historical development of GPS and the arrival of GPS III satellites, which are finally launching after years of delays. Richard debunked the common myth that President Ronald Reagan declassified GPS for its first civilian use, discussed how GPS impacted the Persian Gulf War, summarized ongoing challenges related to spoofing and jamming, and raised the policy issue posed by whether new military receivers should incorporate other GNSS signals.

TOCRadio is a military-themed podcast produced by LTC Matt Schoenfeldt and CPT Wyatt Harper.

TOCRAdio logo

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Quote

Fourmilog – John Walker

“There are abundant technical details about the design and operation of the system, but the book is entirely accessible to the intelligent layman….This book is an essential history of how this technology came to be, how it works, and where it may be going in the future.”

— John Walker, founder of Autodesk, Inc. and co-author of AutoCAD

Read the full review at the Fourmilab website

Fourmilab home page

July 28, 2015 · 11:21 pm
July 19, 2015 · 6:30 pm

GPS Declassified Cited in Wilson Quarterly Article

A recent article, “Launching the Brick Moon: GPS’ Path from the Space Race to Smartphone,” by Aaron Lovell in the Wilson Quarterly, references GPS Declassified and quotes coauthors Richard Easton and Eric Frazier. Lovell summarizes GPS history, starting with the earliest concept for an artificial satellite conceived by Edward Everett Hale in 1870, and follows the story all the way to present issues raised the app economy, made possible by smartphones.

Wilson Quarterly is produced by the Communications Department of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.

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July 25, 2014 · 11:02 pm

Richard Easton Discusses GPS with Business Insider

Business Insider recently spoke with Richard Easton for input on its article, How Does GPS Work?

Richard noted that while GPS costs about $1 billion a year to maintain and replenish, it produces perhaps $100 billion per year in economic benefits, quite a “bang for our buck.”

Applications for GPS continue to expand, owing largely to a decision made at the beginning–to make the system passive. GPS satellites broadcast one-way signals, like a radio station, meaning an unlimited number of users can share them without transmitting anything back to the satellite, which would saturate the system and limit its use.

II IIA 1 GPS

Photo via GPS.gov

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Video

“From Harrison to GPS” – Richard Easton at The Explorers Club, NYC

Public Lecture Series feat. Richard Easton – May 5, 2014 from The Explorers Club on Vimeo.

From Harrison to GPS – This lecture traces the development of navigation from the 18th century longitude problem to the invention of the Global Positioning System. Easton will describe the two major proposed solutions to the longitude problem: accurate clocks as developed by John Harrison and observations of celestial objects such as lunars and the Jovian moons. He will then trace the history of satellite navigation proposals culminating in GPS which combines the two 18th century proposals, putting accurate synchronized clocks in satellites which are artificial celestial objects.

Full Website Listing & Description:
http://www.explorers.org/index.php/events/detail/nyc_lecture_series_w_richard_easton

June 9, 2014 · 10:41 pm
June 3, 2014 · 11:35 am

Richard Easton on The Milt Rosenberg Show

Listen as longtime Chicago radio host Milt Rosenberg talks with Richard in a wide-ranging interview that spans the early days of GPS, the role that his father, Roger Easton, played in its development, and the future of the technology.

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May 20, 2014 · 1:07 pm

Richard Easton on The Space Show

Following the death of his father, Roger Easton, Richard talked with Dr. David Livingston, host of The Space Show, about his father’s groundbreaking work with satellites and accurate clocks, leading to the development of the Timation satellite navigation system and ultimately GPS. Listen to the podcast here.

 

The Space Show

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