Satellite navigation could be losing its way because the ageing Global Positioning System (GPS) could begin to fail as early as next year according to a study by the US government accountability office (GAO).
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It said the 20-year-old system was suffering because of mismanagement and a lack of investment. Some satellites are nearing the end of their life. The GAO said that the impact of a failure could be significant not only for millions of sat nav users, but would create large problems for military and security services around the world who use the system to gather intelligence.
The satellites are overseen by the US Air Force, which has maintained the GPS network since the early 1990s, and, although it is spending US$2bn to bring it up to date, the GAO report said delays and overspending are jeopardising the entire system.
A replacement system should have been launched at the beginning of 2007 but has been delayed several times and is now scheduled for November this year.
According to NewScientist, GPS devices calculate their position by comparing time signals from at least four of the 24 operational satellites circulating the Earth. The GAO said there was a one in five chance that the fleet would drop below 24 at times in 2011 and 2012 and, although it would cause not the system to shut down completely, it would compromise accuracy.
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