Dust Off Your Paper Maps Boys and Girls.

[arakboss]

Russia issues threat to GPS satellites - GPS World

Russia warned it could blow up 32 GPS satellites with its new anti-satellite technology, ASAT, which it tested Nov. 15 on a retired Soviet Tselina-D satellite, according to numerous news reports. Russia then claimed on state television that its new ASAT missiles could obliterate NATO satellites...

www.gpsworld.com

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[arakboss]

What if the Russians did this. What would the immediate impacts be on our daily lives?

 

[arakboss]

One Author's take on what could happen.

Could the world cope if GPS stopped working?

Despite widespread reliance on the system, there is no universal plan to deal with GPS disruption.

www.google.com

Another more detailed opinion on what might happen.

What Happens If GPS Fails?

Despite massive reliance on the system’s clocks, there’s still no longterm backup.

www.google.com

 

[CamoDeafie]

What if the Russians did this. What would the immediate impacts be on our daily lives?

Were they to do so; on one hand, our Govt would not be able to track people movement via smartphones... companies wont be able to suggest places to eat at, shop at, or visit... phone companies wouldnt be able to guide trucks into low clearance places (the River Road S rail overpasses in Salem comes to mind).. and a good large portion of drivers will have to figure how to get to wherever without gps.

On the other hand.. meh.

 

[arakboss]

Were they to do so; on one hand, our Govt would not be able to track people movement via smartphones... companies wont be able to suggest places to eat at, shop at, or visit... phone companies wouldnt be able to guide trucks into low clearance places (the River Road S rail overpasses in Salem comes to mind).. and a good large portion of drivers will have to figure how to get to wherever without gps.

On the other hand.. meh.

I read container port cranes use gps to unload ships and farmers have been using it? What about air traffic will they still be able to fly?

Do we have the capability to take out Russias GPS system?

Would China sieze the moment to take over Taiwan?

How would stock markets react?

It seems like it could make for a pretty bad situation.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I read container port cranes use gps to unload ships and farmers have been using it?

Good question.

What about air traffic will they still be able to fly?

Yes. Transponders, ground control, radar, radio networks.

Do we have the capability to take out Russias GPS system?

Most likely, yes. Just classified/Black Programs within DOD/DARPA.

Would China sieze the moment to take over Taiwan?

Your guess is good as mine.

How would stock markets react?

Badly. But then again... stocks been manipulated and cooked with SEC help soo I dont know.

It seems like it could make for a pretty bad situation.

Possible if improbable.

 

[coop44]

Going to be funny as hell watching millenials driving around in circles helplessly lost. I have maps and thomas guides, they still work without batteries, satellites, or tech support. Does anyone even study orienteering anymore? I have never been lost in my life, only momentarily bewildered. I learned simple givens when I was a boy scout.
1- when in doubt follow the water, civilization has been tied to waterways, well, forever.
2- no waterways? Downhill is a good choice.
3- flat country with no water? Head north. It works. If you can't find north, oh well I suppose Darwin's survival of the fittest comes into play then. So sad.
Using those 3 things eventually you will find someone who will tell you where the heck you are.

As far as the government tracking you, you are talking about people who can't find their butts with both hands. I would be more concerned with private corporations like Amazon and Google tracking you and selling the information to the government.

 

[bradsteen]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Russians threaten a lot of stuff... doesn't mean they'll go through with it. They know that if they take out our GPS satellites we will most likely retaliate, and it could escalate to a shooting war. Nobody wants that, especially them. Taking out a satellite is a direct attack on a country's infrastructure, not something that would be taken lightly. Putin might be crazy, but he isn't stupid.

While they do have military capability, their economy is in the crapper and there is a massive disparity in wealth ownership that is all too apparent to the average Russian citizen. Putin is undoubtedly concerned about keeping public attention focused on external threats so they don't look around and see that the biggest threat to their wellbeing runs their country.

That's how dictators keep power - they distract the populace by manufacturing threats so they can appear to be doing something other than bleeding them dry. North Korea has been doing that since the 1960s, China has done that for decades, Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya, Khamenei in Iran... they all do it. It's not about us, it's about their internal stability. We're just convenient bad guys for them to yell at so they look tough and powerful to their citizens.

The only way I could see them going through with it is if they think they could get away with it to score points at home. If they perceive Biden as weak, they might try, but there would have to be a pretty clear benefit for them to do so that outweighs the risk of direct military confrontation. More likely than not they would use another incident as justification for it so they don't overtly look like the aggressor to the international community.

 

[308]

Operation Mockingbird alerting us to the boogie man of the week? Again.

 

[arakboss]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Russians threaten a lot of stuff... doesn't mean they'll go through with it. They know that if they take out our GPS satellites we will most likely retaliate, and it could escalate to a shooting war. Nobody wants that, especially them. Taking out a satellite is a direct attack on a country's infrastructure, not something that would be taken lightly. Putin might be crazy, but he isn't stupid.

While they do have military capability, their economy is in the crapper and there is a massive disparity in wealth ownership that is all too apparent to the average Russian citizen. Putin is undoubtedly concerned about keeping public attention focused on external threats so they don't look around and see that the biggest threat to their wellbeing runs their country.

That's how dictators keep power - they distract the populace by manufacturing threats so they can appear to be doing something other than bleeding them dry. North Korea has been doing that since the 1960s, China has done that for decades, Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya, Khamenei in Iran... they all do it. It's not about us, it's about their internal stability. We're just convenient bad guys for them to yell at so they look tough and powerful to their citizens.

The only way I could see them going through with it is if they think they could get away with it to score points at home. If they perceive Biden as weak, they might try, but there would have to be a pretty clear benefit for them to do so that outweighs the risk of direct military confrontation. More likely than not they would use another incident as justification for it so they don't overtly look like the aggressor to the international community.

My feeling is that Russia is about ready to "annex" some more territory and the recent satellite destruction demonstration was to deter us from interfering. I am not sure what Russias Red Line is but I am guessing interferring with a Ukraine incursion would be crossing it. Putin is a smart guy and would likely allow the US to make the first strike before resorting to destroying our GPS satellites. Then it would look more like a defensive move for them.

 

[P7M13]

Bullets won't fly straight anymore.
Uber and Lyft will crash and burn
Planes will crash
Hospital equipment will stop working
Think Y2K disaster type stuff.

 

[EHJ]

Only 50 years ago, "Zip Codes" were all the rage. Mail got to you nearly a week faster!
People used paper, pen and pencil to communicate and record records and such...
And the compass was understood and used by many as well.

Some of us don't see a downside here.

Besides, intentional or not, once nations start attacking each other's space tech - it all collapses into an orbiting junk pile in the sky.

Kessler Syndrome. Pretty much mutual assured destruction for everyone involved. (And it's closer than we think...)

 

[PiratePast40]

We'll have to go back to looking up addresses in the phone book and then locate them on the city maps, also in the phone books. Next thing you know, people will be ripping pages out of the phone books in phone booths. That is unless we no longer have phone books and phone booths.

Side story about loss of technology - was on a business trip and my cell phone decided to stop working due to an OS upgrade gone bad. Was interesting trying to find a pay phone at an airport and then charge the call to a credit card. Anyone remember phone cards and everyone scrambling for a pay phone as soon as you got off a plane?

 

[Mikej]

What if the Russians did this. What would the immediate impacts be on our daily lives?

Very first thing? Potland, and any other larger cities in Oregon, would be instant traffic stoppage. There are enough people driving with the screen they have to look at to show them where they're going that they'd be lost with out it. People on freeways would instantly panic and the masses of cars colliding would be devastating. People would be out of their stopped cars, phones in hand, wandering around , looking like zombies, trying to get their signal back. Oh yeah.

We'll have to go back to looking up addresses in the phone book and then locate them on the city maps, also in the phone books. Next thing you know, people will be ripping pages out of the phone books in phone booths. That is unless we no longer have phone books and phone booths.

"Phone Book"? Yeah, I remember. We get one once a year. I think it only has businesses in it. And the writing is so small you need to get a magnifying glass to read it. "Phone Booth/Pay Phone" There's a blast from the past. They used to have a payphone just outside of the door at the store Wifey works at. they took it out because doods were using it for dealing dope.
Ah, the good old days.

 

[Soli]

Widely used high tech product shown to be defenseless, easily wrecked and hard to repair?

Crypto shorts would have big smiles on their faces.

 

[SonicBlue03]

Antifa won't be able to meet at parks for rioting anymore. They won't know how to get there.

 

[Longwalkhome]

GPS or maps are meaningless when you are locked down.

 

[Nosferatu]

It would have a bigger effect on navigation systems in rural areas. Most phone app position data is actually provided from cell towers. GPS is only triggered when there aren't enough towers nearby to triangulate from. The NSA won't be able to track you as easily once you leave town.

Farmers would be mildly affected. Their combines use GPS for harvest, but these guys now how to do it manually as well.

I assume most ship captains know how to chart a course on a map, so I doubt they would be affected too much either.

The military probably has the biggest reliance, but even then, I'm not sure what it would truly effect.

GPS is a nice luxury, but I don't see it as being a necessity. Your phone maps will still work without GPS.

Besides, I'd imagine after the 2nd satellite is taken out, we'd have a fix on the location of whatever they are using to blast them. I doubt they would make it too much further than that.

 

[Alexx1401]

The "threats" are just that, threats. Given who is in the top slot right now it makes sense. Make threats and he will give you what you want. They are NEVER going to do it. I have to agree though it would be fun to watch if the damn things got turned off. Most have become so used to the tech they would be lost trying to get to the store. Online stuff would slow to nothing as 99% of the delivery people would no longer be able to find anything. I well remember using those wire bound projection maps for this. Hand one of them a map and they would not have a clue how it worked.

 

[Camelfilter]

Such would be an overt act of war, IMO, with a high likely hood of innocent lives lost.

Given that it would be a direct & immediate threat to anyone flying at the time.

The secondary complications would be more economic in nature (immediate catastrophic disruption of goods distribution) , however still an overt act of war.

Hence, again IMO, less likely to actually occur. Just sabre rattling.

Paper maps are always a good idea, regardless of technological advancements...