science · 08 December 1993 · 31 years ago
In 1993, the U.S. Secretary of Defense declared that the Global Positioning System, accurate within 100 meters, had 24 GPS satellites operating in their assigned orbits, available for navigation use at Standard Positioning Service (SPS) levels for civil users. This Initial Operational Capability was followed on 27 Apr 1995 with a formal declaration by the U.S. Air Force Space Command that the GPS satellite constellation had met the requirement for Full Operational Capability after successful testing for military functionality. This worldwide, satellite-based radionavigation system used as the DoD's primary radionavigation system provided authorized users encrypted Precise Positioning Service accurate to at least 22 meters.
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