As the 65th anniversary of the March 17, 1958, launch of Vanguard 1 approached, Richard reviewed its historical significance and connection to GPS on two well-followed podcasts — The Space Show and Space and Things.
Catch the conversations here:
The Space Show: Broadcast 4000: Richard Easton – Vanguard is now Medicare qualified!
Space and Things: Podcast 133: Unsung Heroes: Roger Easton – The Man Behind Vanguard 1 and GPS – with Richard Easton
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Richard recently joined host Jim Malliard on his podcast, The Malliard Report, to discuss the history of GPS. In one hour, Richard touched on the most important topics across the sweep of GPS history, from the challenges during the early days of the space race to more current issues, such as tracking, jamming and spoofing.
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Richard Easton and Eric Frazier were recently invited by the National Security Space Institute (NSSI), located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., to speak to students and faculty.
The two-day visit included a 90-minute presentation, July 21, as part of the Space Professionals Speaker Series, hosted by Gen. John E. Hyten, Commander, Air Force Space Command.
The authors got a behind-the-scenes tour of the GPS ground control facility at nearby Schriever AFB and met more than a dozen of the over 100 members of the 2nd Space Operations Squadron, who keep the GPS constellation running smoothly 24/7.
Easton and Frazier presented their talk, “GPS: Military Asset, Public Utility,” five times in all, including to the space professionals community, to three classes of NSSI students from the United States and allies, and to a faculty gathering.
For two individuals who have devoted countless hours to researching the historical development of GPS, as well as its economic and sociological implications, Easton and Frazier consider it a rare treat to have the opportunity to meet the experts who manage GPS and see firsthand the facilities they operate.
View the entire talk at YouTube:
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On April 1, 2016, Richard Easton and Dr. Bleddyn E. Bowen were guests on The Space Show, hosted by Dr. David Livingston. They discussed space history and strategies for space security. Bowen is a Teaching Fellow in strategy, military history, and intelligence studies at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Wales.
Listen to the podcast of the interview at the website:
http://www.thespaceshow.com/show/01-apr-2016/broadcast-2676-richard-easton-dr.-bleddyn-bowen
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Richard Easton will join Dr. Bleddyn E. Bowen as guests on The Space Show, hosted by Dr. David Livingston, on April 1, 2016, to discuss space history and space security strategy. Bowen is a Teaching Fellow in strategy, military history, and intelligence studies at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Wales.
Listen to the interview live from 9:30 a.m to 11 a.m. Pacific Time or by podcast later at the website:
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The recent article, “A Smart Bomb in Every Garage: Driverless Cars and the Future of Terrorist Attacks,” by Jeffrey Lewis, PhD, cites GPS Declassified. Lewis, a lecturer in International Studies at The Ohio State University, examines the threat of terrorists using self-driving cars to deliver car bombs. The article appears on The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) website.
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“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
On March 1, Richard Easton and Eric Frazier joined Dr. David Livingston, host of The Space Show, for a discussion about GPS modernization. Topics included new capabilities, schedule delays, cost overruns, international competition and potential threats to the system–a concern shared by many listeners, as evidenced by questions posed by email and callers. You can listen to the podcast here.
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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.
Photo via GPS.gov
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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
