The Telegraph has a nice write-up about the people who make sure GPS stays up and humming.
The British newspaper profiled the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schreiver Air Force Base, Colo., in an article carrying a headline that pretty much sums up the squadron’s contribution to everyday life: “We’d be lost without them.”
The article begins with a description of Joshua Williams, a payload systems operator: “Three years ago, it was still illegal for him to buy a drink. Two years before that, he was back home in Virginia learning to drive. And yet today he’s responsible for a constellation of 35 satellites, each one of them worth upwards of £40million and vital for the safe passage of billions of people, in cars, ships and aeroplanes all over the world.”
Next time you’re trying to find the fastest way from Newark to Kalamazoo (without paying tolls) or riding in the back of an MRAP, thank these guys.
