ChasingBlueSky 0 #1 December 16, 2004 This is interesting. Saw this on Slashdot and a few other places today. Anyone familiar with GPS that can explain how they could shut down public usage but still allow aviation or military use? http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2004121521290001739682&dt=20041215212900&w=APO&coview= QuoteBush Prepares for Possible GPS Shutdown WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has ordered plans for temporarily disabling the U.S. network of global positioning satellites during a national crisis to prevent terrorists from using the navigational technology, the White House said Wednesday. Any shutdown of the network inside the United States would come under only the most remarkable circumstances, said a Bush administration official who spoke to a small group of reporters at the White House on condition of anonymity. QuoteThe president also instructed the Defense Department to develop plans to disable, in certain areas, an enemy's access to the U.S. navigational satellites and to similar systems operated by others. Quote``This is not something you would do lightly,'' said James A. Lewis, director of technology policy for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. ``It's clearly a big deal. You have to give them credit for being so open about what they're going to do.'' President Clinton abandoned the practice in May 2000 of deliberately degrading the accuracy of civilian navigation signals, a technique known as ``selective availability.'' The White House said it will not reinstate that practice, but said the president could decide to disable parts of the network for national security purposes. The directives to the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department were part of a space policy that Bush signed this month. It designates the GPS network as a critical infrastructure for the U.S. government. Part of the new policy is classified; other parts were disclosed Wednesday. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
