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The Russian satellite navigation system is called GLNOSS.  Just recently,
they launched
three new satellites so their system is still very much operational.  Also,
the European union
is currently developing their own system.  It's called  GALELIO .

I don't think ICBM guidance was the impetus for GPS.  Inertial systems were
very capable
of delivering a warhead to within a given city block at the time GPS began
to mature.

 I was told the Army Pershing intermediate range missile employed a star
tracker to trim the trajectory.  The Pershing warhead section that I saw was
marked secret so I didn't get a
chance to examine it closely.


---  CHAS


----- Original Message -----
From: "Trevor J. Kenchington" 
To: 
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 23 14
Subject: Re: Cel nav in space


> The reason for wanting an accuracy better than 100 metres with a
> thermonuclear warhead is for when you aim to crack the hardened silo in
> which the other guy's ICBM is (if you are lucky) still waiting to be
> fired at your now-empty silo. Outside of the circle of those who really
> know (but won't talk), it is widely supposed that that needs extreme
> accuracy.
>
> It is also said (but again not in public by those who really know) that
> an ICBM's warhead spends the great majority of its flight in free-fall.
> All navigation towards the target has to be provided during the brief
> period between launch and separation from the rocket when the latter
> runs out of fuel. Supposedly, the extreme accuracy of GPS was designed
> to provide U.S. ICBMs with sufficiently-precise positional information
> early in their flights, so that even after any errors had been magnified
> by the long extrapolation in free-fall, they would still arrive close
> enough to their hardened targets to do their jobs.
>
> Did the Soviets not develop their own GPS-like system? If so, does
> anyone know whether it is still operational?
>
>
> Trevor Kenchington
>
>
>> Fascinating.  I was once told that Soviet ICBMs used a form of cel nav
>> for
>> targeting, as they could not trust a potential enemy's GPS system ;-)  I
>> quipped, "Big deal. So SA is on and you miss by 100 meters.  What does
>> that
>> matter with multiple warheads?
>>
>> I was surprised to learn that the destination was locked in while the
>> missile was high above the Earth, so a few seconds of an arc off could
>> make
>> a potentially significant difference on final destination.
>>
>> Bill
>
>
> --
> Trevor J. Kenchington PhD                         Gadus@iStar.ca
> Gadus Associates,                                 Office(902) 889-9250
> R.R.#1, Musquodoboit Harbour,                     Fax   (902) 889-9251
> Nova Scotia  B0J 2L0, CANADA                      Home  (902) 889-3555
>
>                     Science Serving the Fisheries
>                      http://home.istar.ca/~gadus

   

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