GPS has made a major impact on our world. How is it a free service that anyone with a phone can access? How is it profitable for companies to offer services like navigation without subscription fees or ads?
In: Technology
Because the Soviets shot down a civilian airliner thinking it was a US spy plane.
In 1983, the Korean Airlines flight KAL007 was flying from New York to Seoul. They drifted from their planned course, and accidentally ended up in restricted Soviet air space. The Soviets intercepted it and shot it down. All passengers and crew were killed, including a US Representative.
GPS was still in development at this time, but it became clear that it would be a public good to help prevent incidents like this. President Reagan ordered that it be declassified and made publicly available as soon as it was ready.
Even though it is a military asset, the civilian use of it is simply the reception of a signal. Or rather, several signals, since that’s how GPS actually works. Everything else that goes along with your navigation apps is cartography.
Latest Answers