A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has come out recently that reveals a scary, yet real, truth about our aging GPS system satellites. The ones that orbit our planet and provide consumers, businesses and military with accurate positions for everything from where to drop a smart bomb to directions to the nearest Starbucks.
The aging satellites are running on a 20-year-old system which has been maintained by the U.S. government since the early 1990"s and could need to be replaced and/or updated within a year.
According to The Guardian, overspending and delays have prevented the latest update from taking place, putting the entire system in jeopardy. The U.S. Air Force currently has a $2 billion dollar project to update the current GPS system, by replacing the first GPS satellites, but that was due to launch back in 2007 and has yet to leave the ground.
Some have also proposed an additional tax on GPS services, in order to fund additional improvements, but opponents say it is something which would be very hard to track.
The failing GPS could swing open the door to offers of Galileo, the European-funded attempt to rival America"s GPS system. In addition, other countries including Russia, India and China have all developed their own satellite navigation technologies that are being expanded.