The U.S. Navy’s New Unhackable GPS Alternative: The Stars
GPS is a world-changing technology. It’s also incredibly fragile, easily spoofable, and consistently hackable. That’s why the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are looking to the stars for a navigational Plan B.
By David Hambling
Apr 25, 2021
senior chief petty officer mike rosati uses a sextant while conducting celestial navigation training while sailing on the atlantic ocean aboard the coast guard cutter eagle, aug 3, 2015 celestial navigation is taught to the coast guard academy cadets while they spend time underway on the eagle us coast guard photo by petty officer 2nd class matthew s masaschi
Matthew S. Masaschi
Twenty-five years ago, in 1995, the U.S. Air Force reached a milestone: Its satellite Global Positioning System became fully operational. Today, GPS directs our world, from supertankers to pizza deliveries. But before the creation of this modern navigational marvel, humans looked to the heavens to find their way.
For centuries, using a sextant, a sailor could mark a ship’s location by making a few calculations to determine a star’s position relative to the horizon. Now a high-tech version of this maritime tradition is finding its way back into practice.
GPS is indispensable these days—but it’s still incredibly fragile. It can be spoofed with a fake satellite signal, hacked by an adversary, or simply destroyed. Spoofing, hacking, or destroying the stars? Not happening.
GPS may have revolutionized the way we navigate, but for years celestial navigation has been undergoing a quiet revolution of its own.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a36078957/celestial-navigation/
