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1 INTRODUCTION
Over the last decade the Global Positioning System
has become a global, multifunctional tool which
provides services that are an integral part of U.S.
national security as well as the security of other
highly developed countries. Economic development,
transport security as well as homeland security are
important elements of the global economic
i
nfrastructure. In 2000 the United States
acknowledged the growing significance of GPS for
civilian users and stopped intentionally degrading
accuracy for non‐military signals that are known as
“Selective Availability”. Since then, commercial
applications of satellite systems have been
proliferating even more rapidly, and therefore, their
importance in everyday life has greatly increased.
Currently, services tha
t depend on information
obtainedfromtheGlobalPositioningSystemare the
driving force behind economic growth, economic
developmentandtheimprovementinlifesafety.
The document titled “U.S. Space‐Based
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Policy”, which
was signedby thePresident of theUnited States on
December 15, 2014, states tha
t the U.S. Congress
intendstocontinuetodevelopservicesbasedonthe
GlobalPositioningSystem;thisdocumentalsopoints
tothepossiblerisksandthreatstonationalsecurityas
well as economic security. The widespread and
constantly growing dependence on satellite systems
aswellasmilit
ary,civil,andcommercialsystemsand
infrastructure makes these systems more vulnerable
to unexpected interruptions to the process of
Global Positioning System: Political Support,
Directions of Development, and Expectations
K.Czaplewski
GdyniaMaritimeUniversity,Gdynia,Poland
ResilientNavigationandTimingFoundation,USA
ABSTRACT: Over the last decade the Global Positioning System has become a global, multifunctional tool
whichprovidesservicesthatareanintegralpartofU.S.nationalsecurityaswellasthesecurityofotherhighly
developed countries.Economic development, transport security aswell as homeland security are import
ant
elements of the global economic infrastructure. In 2000 the United States acknowledged the growing
significanceofGPSforcivilianusersandstoppedintentionallydegradingaccuracyfornon‐militarysignalsthat
are known as “Selective Availability”. Since then, commercial applications of satellite systems have been
proliferat
ing even more rapidly, and therefore, their importance in everyday life has greatly increased.
Currently,servicesthatdependoninformationobtainedfromtheGlobalPositioningSystemarethedriving
force behind economic growth, economic development and the improvement in life safety. This economic
development would not be possible without the financial and polit
ical support of the US government to
maintaintheoperationoftheGPSsystem.Thereforeitisimportanttohaveknowledgeabouttheintentionsof
theUSgovernmenthowsystemGPSwillbedevelopedinthefuture.Decisionstakeninthelast3monthsare
thesubjectofthi
sarticle.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 9
Number 2
June 2015
DOI:10.12716/1001.09.02.10
230
performing standard services. The United States
mustsandwantstocontinuetoimproveandmaintain
theGlobal PositioningSystem byexpanding backup
functionsinordertomeetthegrowingneedsrelated
to the safety of using this system for military, civil,
economicandscientificpurposes.
Moreover, since there are different
requirements
for different applications, there is a need for stable
policy that would be implemented through flexible
management strategies. The document dated
December 15, 2014 defines the extent to which
national and GPS management policies are to be
modified. These policies are aimed to support the
system’s capability to meet
the growing, diverse
domestic and international requirements. This
document defines the basic goals and objectives of
thispolicy:”(…)Thefundamentalgoalofthispolicy
is to ensure that the United States maintains space‐
based positioning, navigation, and timing services,
augmentation, back‐up, and service denial
capabilitiesthat:
1 provide uninterrupted
availability of positioning,
navigation,andtimingservices;
2 meet growing national, homeland, economic
security,andcivilrequirements,andscientificand
commercialdemands;
3 remain the pre‐eminent military space‐based
positioning,navigation,andtimingservice;
4 continue to provide civil services that exceed or
are competitive with foreign civil space‐
based
positioning, navigation, and timing services and
augmentationsystems;
5 remain essential components of internationally
accepted positioning, navigation, and timing
services;
6 promote U.S. technological leadership in
applications involving space‐based positioning,
navigation,andtimingservices.(…)”
These goals will still be pursued by using the
existingorganizationalstructure(Fig.1).
Figure1.GPSmanagementstructure[4].
The National Executive Committee For Space‐
Based PNT is the most important body in this
structure. This body ensures that scientific and
business communities follow the U.S. government’s
guidelines and fulfill its expectations. The National
Space‐Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
(PNT) Advisory Board provides independent advice
totheU.S.government
onGPS‐relatedpolicythrough
the Executive Steering Group. What is more, it also
manages programs and funding profiles connected
with the current state of national and international
servicesprovidedbytheGPSsystem.
2 CURRENTACTIVITYOFTHEU.S.NATIONAL
SPACE‐BASEDPOSITIONING,NAVIGATION,
ANDTIMING(PNT)ADVISORYBOARD
Apart from managing current programs, the PNT
Advisory Board mainly deals with planning and
monitoring the development of domestic and
international services related to using satellite
navigation. It is commissioned to explore research
topics and carry out other tasks by the Space‐Based
PNT National Executive Committee. The National
Space‐Based
PNT Advisory Board’s members are
non‐governmental experts on satellite systems who
are elected for a term of two years. The Advisory
Boardiscurrentlycomposedof:
1 expertsfromindustryandacademiccommunities,
who are given the status of federal employees
duringtheAdvisoryBoard’smeeting:
Bradford Parkinson (Chairman), Stanford
University,
ThadAllen,BoozAllenHamilton,
PeninaAxelrad,UniversityofColorado,
JohnBetz,MITRE,
DeanBrenner,Qualcomm,
JosephD.Burns,SensurionAerospace,
PerK.Enge,StanfordUniversity,
MartinC.Faga,MITRE,
JamesE.Geringer,ESRI,
RonaldR.Hatch,consultanttoJohnDeere,
RajivKhosla,ColoradoStateUniversity,
PeterMarquez,PlanetaryResources,
Terence J. McGurn, private consultant (retired
CIA),
TimothyA.Murphy,TheBoeingCompany,
RuthNeilan,JetPropulsionLaboratory,
T.RussellShields,Ygomi;
2 international representatives who have been
appointedtospeakonbehalfofparticularinterest
groups:
Gerhard Beutler, International Association of
Geodesy(Switzerland),
Elizabeth Cannon, Canadian Aeronautics and
SpaceInstitute(Canada),
AnnCiganer,GPSInnovationAlliance,
Arve Dimmen, Norwegian Coastal
Administration(Norway),
Matt Higgins, International GNSS Society
(Australia),
HiroshiNishiguchi,JapanGPSCouncil(Japan),
RafaatM.Rashad,ArabInstituteofNavigation
(Egypt).
The Advisory Board’s meetings have been held
everysixmonthssince2007.OnDecember10‐11,2014
the U.S. National Space‐Based Positioning,
Navigation,and Timing(PNT) AdvisoryBoard held
its 14
th
meeting in Washington. During these two
days, a total of 27 presentations were given. These
were performance progress reports concerning tasks
thathadbeenassignedtoworkinggroupsaswellas
information about the current scope of activities
carried out by institutions that cooperate with the
PNTAdvisoryBoardor
areitssubsidiaries.
231
ThemeetingwasopenedbyChair,Prof.Bradford
Parkinson, who presented a summary of the PNT
Advisory Board’s previous activities, the major
threatstoGPSsystemsaswellasthescopeofactions
thatshouldbeundertakentomakeGPSinvulnerable
tomodernthreats.
Figure2. Meeting of the U.S. National Space‐Based
Positioning,Navigation,andTiming(PNT)AdvisoryBoard
(author’sarchive).
Among the most interesting presentations that
were made on the first day of the meeting were
reports prepared by working groups. The results
achieved by the first working group, i.e. “Assured
Availability”,werepresentedby:
Ms.AnnCiganerandMr.RonHatch,whogavea
presentationtitled“ProtecttheClearandTruthful
Reception”;
Dr. John Betz and Dr. Per Enge, who gave a
presentationtitled“ToughenUsers’Receivers”;
Mr. Matt Higgins and Mr. Terry McGurn, who
madeapresentationtitled“AugmentorSubstitute
PNTSources”.
Theresultsofactivitiescarriedoutbythesecond
workinggroup, i.e.“EconomicValue ofPNT”, were
presented by Gov. Jim Geringer. Moreover, Director
of the GPS Directorate, Col. William T. Cooley
described
the current state of GPS modernization
activities and future plans for modernizing this
system. Currently there is a constellation of 30
operationalsatellitesinorbit:
fourGPSIIAsatellites–signalsatL1C/A,L1P(Y),
andL2P(Y)frequencies;
twelveGPSIIR satellites– broadcastingthesame
signalsastheIIAblock;
sevenGPSIIR‐Msatellites–withadditionalL2C,
L1M,andL2Msignals;
sevenGPSIIFsatellites–withanadditionalsignal
atL5frequency.
Moreover,atotalofeightadditionalsatellitesare
in teststatus and onesatellite from block IIF‐8 is in
early orbit test. There were four successful satellite
launchesin2014:
onFebruary20:blockIIF‐5,
onMay16:blockIIF‐6,
onAugust1:blockIIF‐7,
onOctober29:blockIIF‐8.
Figure3.GPSmodernizationprogram[1].
Then,thedirectors:
Mr. Harold “Stormy” Martin Director, National
CoordinationOfficeforSpace‐BasedPNT;
Mr.KennethHodgkins,Director,OfficeofSpace&
AdvancedTechnology,StateDepartment;
Ms. Karen Van Dyke, Director for PNT, DOT
OfficeoftheSecretary,ResearchandTechnology
presentedtasksthatarecurrentlybeingperformedby
theinstitutionsthattheylead.
Ms. Paige Atkins and Mr. Ron Repasi described
the priorities related to and prospects for spectrum
managementintheUnitedStates.
On
the second day of the meeting, the Advisory
Board’sinternationalmemberspresentedinformation
about the current state of their research activities in
particularareas.Presentationsweregivenby:
Dr.GerhardBeutler(Switzerland),
Mr.ArveDimmen(Norway),
Mr.MattHiggins(Australia),
Dr.RafaatRashad(Egypt).
At the end of the meeting, further research
directions were defined and a total of five research
areaswereidentified:
Anti‐SpoofingAuthenticationCodes,
“Toughening” Techniques for Commercial
Receivers,
FCCLicensingofnon‐U.S.GNSSServices,
CriteriaforU.S.useofotherGNSSsystems,
StrategiesforInternationalEngagement.
3 ELORANINTHETERRITORYOFTHEUNITED
STATES
AlongwiththeAdvisoryBoard’smeeting,ameeting
of the United States Congress was held. The U.S.
Congressmademanyimportantdecisionsconcerning
the United States; one of them, however, is
particularly important for the community of
navigatorsaroundtheworld.OnDecember10,2014,
the U.S. Congress passed legislation that would
preservethenation’sLoraninfrastructureandassign
the task of converting it into an eLoran system to a
givenbodyunderacooperationagreement.Thisbill
was adopted only several weeks after the U.S.
232
Administration had begun to seriously consider the
possibility of developing a non‐satellite navigation
system, including eLoran, so as to supplement the
GPSsystem.
The Senate adopted bill number HR 5769, “The
HowardCobleUSCoastGuardAuthorizationActof
2014”, and sent it to President Barack Obama for
signature.
As regards the eLoran system, the act
reads:
3.1 “(…)Section.229.E–LORAN
3.1.1 Ingeneral
The Secretary of the department in which the
CoastGuardisoperatingmaynotcarryoutactivities
related to the dismantling or disposal of
infrastructure that supported the former LORAN
systemuntilthelaterof—
1 thedatethatis1yearafterthedateofenactment
ofthisAct;or
2 the date on which the Secretary provides to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate notice of a
determination
by the Secretary that such
infrastructure is not required to provide a
positioning, navigation, and timing system to
provide redundant capability in the event GPS
signalsaredisrupted.
3.1.2 Exception
Subsection (a) does not apply to activities
necessaryforthesafetyofhumanlife.
3.1.3 Agreements
The Secretary may enter
into cooperative
agreements, contracts, and other agreements with
Federal entities and other public or private entities,
includingacademicentities,todevelopapositioning,
navigation, and timing system, including an
enhanced LORAN system, to provide redundant
capabilityintheeventGPSsignalsaredisrupted.(…)”
The U.S. Congress took this action after
representatives
of the Federal Aviation
AdministrationhaddeliveredtheirspeechesataPNT
Symposium at Stanford University on October 10,
2014. The Space‐Based Positioning, Navigation &
Timing National Executive Steering Group
established the CPNT Tiger Team. The team’s tasks
wereclearlydefined:
to explore the possibility of using eLoran as a
backupsystemfortheGPStechnology;
toevaluateothertechnologiesasbackupstoGPS;
totestthefeasibilityofprovidingfullyfunctional
components of PNT, i.e. P – positioning, N –
navigation,andT–timing,separately.
TheCPNTTigerTeamwasgivenaveryshorttime
frame to complete this task. The team presented its
conclusions at the U.S. National PNT Advisory
Board’smeeting
inDecember2014.Thetaskhadbeen
carried out and the conclusions were so optimistic
that the United States Senate passed the above‐
mentionedbill.
4 SUMMARY
Satellite positioning systems are a civilizational
achievement without which people’s everyday life
would be much harder. In recent years, terrorist
groupshavebegun
tointensifytheiractivitiesaimed
at jamming or interfering with the operation of
satellite systems, which is why it is extremely
importanttoensuresafefunctioningofthesesystems.
Therefore, it is very positive news that the U.S.
government made the strong and long‐awaited
pronouncement in “U.S. Space‐Based Positioning,
Navigation,andTimingPolicy”.
AcontinuousmodernizationofGPS,whichwould
be carriedout on a yearly basis,will guarantee that
thesystemwillstillfunctionreliablyformanyyears
to come. The process of supporting satellite
positioning systems by using ground‐based radio‐
navigation systems, especially eLoran, exemplifies a
newapproachtoensuringcontinuityandreliabilityof
theprocessofdetermininganobject’spositiononthe
Earth’s surface. Currently, there is a great need to
create systems which would support GPS’s
functioningandwhich wouldmake it moredifficult
tointerferewiththesystemandtojamtheGPSsignal.
Therefore, all initiatives of the U.S. government,
includingtheonethatisdescribedinlawNo.S.2444
[3], which additionally fulfills the directive of the
PresidentoftheUnitedStates dated2004,shouldbe
perceivedasverypositivestepsintherightdirection.
The navigation community is eagerly awaiting
information
that the eLoran system is in a state of
operational readiness in the territory of the United
States.
REFERENCES
[1]Cooley William T. 2014. GPS Update for PNT Advisory
Board.PowerPointpresentation,Washington.
[2]U.S. Space‐Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
Policy,December15,2014,Washington.
[3]S.2444 – Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime
TransportationActof2014,Washington.
[4]www.gps.gov
[5]www.rntfnd.org
