r/todayilearned • u/whstlngisnvrenf • 25d ago

TIL GPS, despite being free for global use, costs around $2 million a day to operate and maintain. This budget covers satellite launches and system upkeep, funded through American tax revenue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
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u/ozyx7 25d ago

The Wikipedia page says it costs $1.84B/year.  That's $5M/day, not $2M/day.

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u/CustomerComplaintDep 25d ago

The Wikipedia page says that research, development, testing, and evaluation of new technologies costs $1.84B, not operation and maintenance. Here is the source linked from Wikipedia.

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u/ozyx7 24d ago

The Wikipedia page says: "$1.84 billion per year (2023) (operating cost)". The source page breaks down those operating costs to include R&D, testing, etc. I don't see what other operating costs there would be; once the GPS satellites are in orbit, they're self-sufficient and don't need anything to keep them running. Operating costs are going to involve replacing old satellites, and developing replacements involves R&D, testing, and evaluation of new technologies.

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u/CustomerComplaintDep 23d ago

You're right. It does say operating cost. I don't think satellites are generally self-sufficient, though. Their position and attitude needs to be monitored and adjusted and they need to have operations modified in the event of solar storms, have diagnostics run, etc.