This thesis investigates many of the issues surrounding
the civil maritime navigation dilemma facing the USCG. At
present, LORAN-C and OMEGA, which are hyperbolic radionavigation
systems and TRANSIT, a Doppler shift satellite-based
system, are the main systems employed in the civil maritime
field. NAVSTAR GPS, a passive ranging satellite navigation
system is, in the meantime, showing great promise as the
replacement system for primary radionavigation in the U.S.
There are several key questions, one involving national
security, which must be answered, however, before NAVSTAR
becomes operational. What positional accuracy will be made
available to the civil community? What are the economics
of the user equipments? Will NAVSTAR be accepted as a
successful replacement for LORAN by the civil community?
To aid in answering some of these questions, the results of
an informal survey of the civil maritime industry are presented.
The final outcome remains to be seen. These issues
will require careful thought by this country's top leaders
before any final committment to NAVSTAR can be made or prior
to any decision to discontinue LORAN-C or OMEGA.http://archive.org/details/satellitenavigat00hartLieutenant, United States Coast GuardApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited
