United States Government to Revamp GPS System with $8 billion

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Ever since the United States Government launched the Global Positioning System in 1973 it has become a staple of everyday life. Not only have there been countless standalone GPS units from popular manufacturers like TomTom and Garmin, but GPS has also been embedded in cars and more recently, into cell phones.

Just imagine a world without GPS; you would actually have to dust off those old maps of yours and figure out where you’re going that way, what a hastle. Thanks to GPS, all you do is punch in your desired destination and, depending on the device, it will give you turn-by-turn directions on how to get there.

If you didn’t know, GPS works thanks to 24 seperate satellites orbiting our earth at this very minute. However, considering the project went live so long ago, these satellites have seen better days and are quickly becoming obsolete. So, since the US Government likes spending money so much, they have announced that they will be investing $8 billion into upgrading each and every one of these aging satellites.

While the Government says taht this new GPS system will be a lot more accurate than the system currently in use today, don’t get too excited. Apparantly, the project will take a decade to complete but if/when it does get completed, GPS users will see the margin of error decreased from 20 feet to just 3.

According to the L.A. times there are an estimated 1 billion GPS receivers currently in use in the United States that rely on these satellites. One could only wonder how much chaos there would be if this $8 billion upgrade went hay wire causing all of these GPS receivers to work improperly.

Luckily, thanks to the masterminds the Government is sure to have working on this GPS upgrade, the chances that it won’t go smoothly are most likely slim to none.