UK needs it’s own GPS system post Brexit?

[anulado]

So according to the article, UK will start work on its own satellite navigation system for when Brexit happens. It seems UK will be out of the European Galileo GPS. I understand that bit. What I don’t understand is how have we managed til now...the European system is still very new and not quite fully operational yet. But UK has managed fine for years. My understanding is we have always used the US GPS service. So what’s happening. If we have been using the US system, why were we even bothering to switch to the European system? And why can’t we continue using the US system, rather than design our own one?


GPS explained.
Satellite navigation - Wikipedia

 

[19sixtysix]

A system just for us system has two uses. It will allow tracking of citizens by injection of receiver under the skin and allow the government to start the Royal Space Force.

 

[magneze]

Sound like potentially a huge boost to the orienteering industry.

 

[maomao]

I thought there was only one gps systen worldwide Won't a new one need a whole new network of satellites?

 

[2hats]

There are four separate global navigation satellite systems (GPS != GNSS; GPS is one of many GNSS) and a few regional ones as well. Galileo provides the high precision service to all users at no charge. The latest GNSS chipsets support GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS (both L1 and L5 signals). Ultimately it’s about political control and input into how the constellation is managed and where it is taken in the future (in the case of HMG’s spat with the EU over Galileo) and access to various technologies (ie keeping up with the tech).

 

[gentlegreen]

post-Brexit GPS

 

[a_chap]

Ooohh....forest

 

[alex_]

Ooohh....forest

I suspect he means the just out of sight trail of breadcrumbs

 

[gentlegreen]

It's all about the moss

 

[gentlegreen]

And here's the post-Brexit Met Office :-

 

[eatmorecheese]

I like maps. I look forward to using paper maps again to source my post-Brexit apocalypse rations

 

[DexterTCN]

So according to the article, UK will start work on its own satellite navigation system for when Brexit happens. It seems UK will be out of the European Galileo GPS. I understand that bit. What I don’t understand is how have we managed til now...the European system is still very new and not quite fully operational yet. But UK has managed fine for years. My understanding is we have always used the US GPS service. So what’s happening. If we have been using the US system, why were we even bothering to switch to the European system? And why can’t we continue using the US system, rather than design our own one?


GPS explained.
Satellite navigation - Wikipedia

This was a fair few months ago so I don't have the links but as I remember it was to do with security and military stuff. The technology falls under that so they won't share it with us.

The four main satellite systems are US, Europe, China and Russia, of course.

 

[MickiQ]

This was a fair few months ago so I don't have the links but as I remember it was to do with security and military stuff. The technology falls under that so they won't share it with us.

The US GPS comes in 2 grades, civilian and military , the civilian grade is used for satnav and phones and the military grade (which is encrypted) is used for guiding cruise missiles, the whole kit and kaboodle though is under the control of the Pentagon and whilst they currently don't mind other people using the free one for whatever, they reserve the right to switch it off or degrade the signal either globally or locally whenever it suits them.
The Galileo system also comes in civilian and military grade with the civilian being also free and the military being encrypted, but the great thing about Galileo is that (other than shooting the satellites down) the US can't monkey with it.
When we voted to come out of the EU, the Commission threw a snit and said "You can't have the passwords to the military grade since you're leaving the club and it's for members only"
May then threw a snit of her own and came back with "Sod you Junkers we don't need your cheese eating GPS, we'll build our own with good old British ingenuity and pluck not to mention string and old toilet roll tubes"

 

[2hats]

the great thing about Galileo is that (other than shooting the satellites down) the US can't monkey with it.

Incorrect. The EU ultimately decided to operate on different frequencies to GPS to avoid having the US default to ASAT when they decide they want to deny use.

 

[joustmaster]

Every time I drive past the sign for our national space centre, I spend the next half hour thinking about what we have done and what is in there...
Maybe some sort of really long ladder that we thought we could use to get to the moon?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Fuck GPS anyway. Learn to read a map or fuck off.

 

[MickiQ]

Every time I drive past the sign for our national space centre, I spend the next half hour thinking about what we have done and what is in there...
Maybe some sort of really long ladder that we thought we could use to get to the moon?

It's a sort of museum discovery/centre place, we went years ago with the kids, it's worth a visit once if you have kids of the right age (say about 6 to 14) but it isn't the kind of place you'd ever go back

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

It's all about the moss

Lichen, not moss. Moss won’t tell you which way to go, moss will just tell you any old bollocks, lichen (like-en, not lich-hen) is the post-Brexit guiding star.

 

[Poi E]

Every time I drive past the sign for our national space centre, I spend the next half hour thinking about what we have done and what is in there...
Maybe some sort of really long ladder that we thought we could use to get to the moon?

Its optimistic, isn't it? I suspect there is a Dyson contribution to the space race in there. Other than that, what could it be?

 

[2hats]

Every time I drive past the sign for our national space centre, I spend the next half hour thinking about what we have done and what is in there...

A lot of space engineering and astrophysics at the university which it is a joint venture with. The centre is focused on education/public understanding of (space) science.

 

[joustmaster]

A lot of space engineering and astrophysics at the university which it is a joint venture with. The centre is focused on education/public understanding of (space) science.

Yeah. I kind of figured that

It's not as fun though