I-GPS …The Opposite Of Progress Is Congress?
The US Congress is saving the taxpayer’s money … or are they?
House lawmakers have denied an $81 million Defense Department request for the development of handheld satellite navigation receivers capable of receiving Iridium and Global Positioning System signals, saying the concept is not sufficiently proven to warrant funding.
DOD requested $71 million for the effort in the Air Force research and development budget for fiscal year 2008. Defense officials requested an additional $10 million in the U.S. Special Operations Command budget. Full article on Congressional GPS shortsightedness penny pinching here:
Just a few weeks ago I highlighted the great idea of using additional signals from other available systems to enhance GPS. There are some tremendous advantages here:
- Resistance to intentional jamming by terrorists or act of war
- Resistance to solar flares and other atmospheric/electromagnetic disturbances
- Significant increase in accuracy and dependability
More than anything I welcomed this initiative because we have already made the investment in thousands and thousands of other signal sources. It’s just plain stupid to ignore the extra aids to GPS that are already out there “for the taking”.
Now should a big company like Boeing be the ones to pursue the research? Well, who else? Head in the cloud “not for profit” organization like MITRE and Aerospace … those guys can’t conceive anything that doesn’t costs billions before it even turns a wheel and they have no concept of profit. Boeing takes raw metal and fashions the world’s most successful airplanes, satellites. etc., so I think right there is a vote in favor of moving forward.
Anyway, as the old saying goes, “if the opposite of “pro” is “Con”, then is the opposite of “Progress” really “Congress”? It sure looks like it in this case. Congressmen, you blew it here.