Boeing begins work on new GPS satellites

location based services

The Global Positioning System, used by mariners, aviators and outdoor people throughout the Northwest, will be getting a major upgrade courtesy of The Boeing Co.
The new satellites will allow civilian mariners to determine their positions within a few meters, instead of the tens of meters possible with the current system, said Boeing spokesman Dave Garlick. It will utilize a new civil signal called L-5, and will complement the existing system.


"It's going to make an order of magnitude difference," he said.
Commonly called GPS, the system allows people to pinpoint where they are geographically by tapping signals from a set of satellites in orbit around the Earth. The ground units have become increasingly small and affordable, and are often the core navigation tool used by skippers of work boats and pleasure craft.
Chicago-based Boeing (NYSE: BA) is building a dozen of the new GPS "Block IIF" satellites at its facilities in El Segundo, Calif., and will deliver the first one next year. The company also has been testing software for the next-generation system.