Interesting Facts & Dates

• Late 1960s, Concept development by Department of Defense begins
• February 22, 1978, Launch of the first satellite
• 1986-1989, Hiatus following the Challenger space shuttle disaster
• 1989, Revived launch program and changes in the design of the satellite constellation. Total cost to US government to launch 29 Navistar satellites in excess of $6.2 Billion
• January 1992, Use of GPS in Operation Desert Storm
• May 2, 2000, Government required "error code" is turned off by presidential directive; inexpensive civilian GPS receivers increase their horizontal accuracy from "no worse than" 100 meters to 10 meters
• January 1, 2007, GPS Direct Online is launched to save consumers and business owners time and money when investing in GPS technology for their vehicles!