GPS: Charting the Future: A Summary of the Report by the GPS Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration

Arnold Donahue and Roger Sperry

Abstract:	Chgms directed that the National Acackmy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the National Academy of Sciencestoprovi&guidanceonthefntnreofGPS.Congress wanted to know how GF’S should be governed, mana& andfundedinthefutureandhowits,technologycouldbe improved To condnct its partion of the study, NAPA fbrmed a panel of experts in de&ense managemen government organi23tioq intelligence and security, internatiom3l trade and finance, science and policy management, technology assessment, and telecommum ‘cations. The NAPA panel’ addmsd policy, management, and funding issues. The National Research Council (NRC) acted on behalf of the National Academy of Sciences to m-view the technical issues. The NAF’A panel assigned the highest priority to maintainingthemilitalyadvatltagesassociatedwithm. Its initial preference was to isolate this dominant influence and then address the commemial, international, management, and fnnding issues. The panelk deli%eratiorq however, led to the conchrsion that national security and other issues could not be treated separately. National security could only be addressed simultaneously with consideration of theccmmemialandintemationalaspectsofGPSin asf3sing appropriately the available options. The panel found that the best approach for preserving national security is one that also adapts to the rapidly evolving commercial andinternationaldimensionsshapingthefixtureofGPs. The NAPA panel conclnded that GPS is an invahrable asset that is rapidly becoming a de $20 “global utility.“* To . . mamtam U.S. leademhip in satellite radionavigation the NAPA panel recommended that: . The President aQpt explicit national goals to guide GPS policy making and implementation. . The United States tmckscore its commitment to makeGpSavailablefieeofdirectchargestoall users. . To sustain its military advantage, DOD develop the cqabilitytocounteradverseuseofGPSandother radionavigation signals. Selective Availability (SA),3 which degmdes the civilbn GF’S signal, is notMtYlingthepurporeforwhichitwascmated. Itshouldbemrneddowntozero~and deactivated after three years. 0 The United States develop a mom effe&ve mechanism of governance by broackning civil agency participation in U.S. policy making and providing a greater voice for civilian, a3mmercial, and international interests in the fitture evolution of GPS. AGPSExecutiveEkdthatmpresentsthese diverseinterestsshonldbecmated. 0 Stable federal fimding of GPS for national security and public safety he continued while pursuing contriions from other nations as international participation grows.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995) September 12 - 15, 1995 Palm Springs, CA
Pages:	1351 - 1361
Cite this article:	Donahue, Arnold, Sperry, Roger, "GPS: Charting the Future: A Summary of the Report by the GPS Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration," Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995), Palm Springs, CA, September 1995, pp. 1351-1361.
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