John Titor and GPS
Timmy G got me to thinking about something. John Titor claimed to have a future GPS reciever with him in his travels. I could almost accept that a GPS system from the future could be backward compatable with today's technology, much the same as USB 2.0 ports are backward compatable with USB 1.1 devices. However, Titor claimed that his "sanctioned mission" was to 1975 and that he decided to go to 1999 for personal reasons based upon his travel to 1975. Thus his time in 1999-2000 was not on his official itinerary.
If he went to 1975 expecting his GPS reciever to work in that era, he would have been completely disappointed. According to this site, http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/content/vie....page.asp?I=464 the first Navstar (GPS) sattelite was not launched until 1978. Here is the relevant excerpt from that site.
Now, here is my question. If John Titor was supposed to travel from 2036 to 1975 and back to 2036, why would he even take a GPS reciever with him? No GPS sattelites were in orbit in 1975. The side trip to 1999-2000 was supposedly unplanned and unsanctioned by his superiors. That would be akin to taking a radio back to the 1700's and expecting to hear Paul Harvey on it.
Timmy G got me to thinking about something. John Titor claimed to have a future GPS reciever with him in his travels. I could almost accept that a GPS system from the future could be backward compatable with today's technology, much the same as USB 2.0 ports are backward compatable with USB 1.1 devices. However, Titor claimed that his "sanctioned mission" was to 1975 and that he decided to go to 1999 for personal reasons based upon his travel to 1975. Thus his time in 1999-2000 was not on his official itinerary.
If he went to 1975 expecting his GPS reciever to work in that era, he would have been completely disappointed. According to this site, http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/content/vie....page.asp?I=464 the first Navstar (GPS) sattelite was not launched until 1978. Here is the relevant excerpt from that site.
The essential components of GPS are the 24 Navstar satellites built by Rockwell International, each the size of a large automobile and weighing some 1,900 pounds. Each satellite orbits the earth every 12 hours in a formation that ensures that every point on the planet will always be in radio contact with at least four satellites. The first operational GPS satellite was launched in 1978, and the system reached full 24-satellite capability in 1993.
Now, here is my question. If John Titor was supposed to travel from 2036 to 1975 and back to 2036, why would he even take a GPS reciever with him? No GPS sattelites were in orbit in 1975. The side trip to 1999-2000 was supposedly unplanned and unsanctioned by his superiors. That would be akin to taking a radio back to the 1700's and expecting to hear Paul Harvey on it.