Responding to a flurry of news reports about the “impending doom” of the GPS satellite system so critical to military and civil capabilities, Air Force Space Command on May 20 took to the Internet via Twitter. Col. Dave Buckman, AFSPC’s lead for position, navigation, and timing systems, answered questions for an hour on AFSPC’s Twitter page (www.twitter.com/AFSpace) about a Government Accountability Office report issued earlier this month that was the subject of a May 7 Congressional hearing. (See our earlier coverage No Happy Talk and About That GPS Gap) During the Twitter session, a first for AFSPC, the bottom line from Buckman was that the GPS system is not going down and it’s “very unlikely” that users will notice any accuracy issues. Buckman acknowledged, as GAO indicated, there is a potential risk for some performance degradation, but AFSPC has “active plans to mitigate any potential gap in coverage.” (Twitter session transcript)
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
