Timeline milestone
GPS reaches full operational capability
From How GPS Became Invisible Infrastructure: Satellites, Smartphones and Precise Time
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Milestone
GPS reaches full operational capability
By 1995, GPS had moved beyond experimental and initial service into a fully operational global utility, completing the military architecture that civilian and commercial uses would soon build upon.
After initial operational capability was declared in 1993, the constellation and control system continued maturing until GPS reached full operational capability in 1995. This marked the point at which the system was no longer primarily an experimental programme or partial service: the space, control and user segments together could provide continuous global positioning, navigation and timing. The milestone mattered far beyond defence because it created a stable platform on which civil aviation, surveying, transportation and later consumer applications could grow.
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