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US Defense Department will stop providing satellite weather data

(text.npr.org)
300 points drewr | 2 comments | 28 Jun 25 23:53 UTC | HN request time: 0.504s | source
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burnt-resistor[dead post] ◴[29 Jun 25 00:34 UTC] No.44409363[source]▶
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chamomeal ◴[29 Jun 25 03:08 UTC] No.44410054[source]▶
Is that possible? I thought GPS works by just listening for signals from GPS satellites?

I’m now realizing I know hardly anything about GPS. Like it was made in the 50’s or something? Do we keep sending more GPS satellites into space? Or are there just the original handful?

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1. hypercube33 ◴[29 Jun 25 04:45 UTC] No.44410424[source]▶
The basics of it are it's a digital synchronized time signal sent out by a constellation of satellites. Devices listen for at least 3 separate streams of time signals and the. triangulation happens to get a position.

Irrc the satellite signals not encrypted or whatever were randomized to be inaccurate on purpose. This is mitigated these days by using stuff like cell towers - we know exactly where they are. they pick the same signals out and send out corrections to the randomized data which increases accuracy.

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2. ◴[29 Jun 25 06:15 UTC] No.44410701[source]▶