NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: leap seconds a navigational hazard, says expert
From: Jared Sherman
Date: 2003 Aug 9, 12:37 -0400
From: Jared Sherman
Date: 2003 Aug 9, 12:37 -0400
Paul-I'm aware of that. And I've intentionally ignored that, considering that the "simple" correction is only one of many factors, which include operating and averaging some 4 atomic clocks on each satellite, acquiring four satellites and computing the 3d positioning of them all, doing the doppler frequency comparisons on them all, and a lot more "donkey work" all of which has been accomplished long ago in the software. The matter of the UTC/GPS time factor is, I would think, the LEAST of all the things that can be going wrong with the GPS system. Something to consider if one is guiding missiles perhaps, but as a practical matter for now...Just one factor among many many others.