Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world
Past Event
Convening
Designing GPS: 50 Years of a Global Public Service
RSVP RequiredHarvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the invention of GPS, Moonshot Space PIC, in partnership with NASA and the Belfer Center's Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program, are pleased to host a reception on the past, present, and future of space navigation. The event features Dr. Brad Parkinson, Inventor of GPS and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, and Dr. Scott Pace, Director of the Space Policy Institute at the George Washington University.
This event is the inaugural reception of the Moonshot Space PIC, a student organization at Harvard Kennedy School. The event will be held on Wednesday, October 11th at 5:45 PM in the Malkin Penthouse.
Professor Bradford Parkinson was the Chief Architect for GPS, and led the original advocacy for the system in 1973 as an Air Force Colonel. Gaining approval, he became the first Director of the GPS Joint Program Office and led the original development of spacecraft, Master Control Station and 8 types of User Equipment. He continued leadership of the Program through the extensive test validation Program, including being the Launch Commander for the first GPS satellite launches. This original deployment of GPS demonstrated comfortable margins against all PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) requirements.
Earlier in his career, he was a key developer of a modernized AC-130 Gunship, introduction of which included 160 hours of combat missions. He was an instructor at the USAF Test Pilot School. In addition he led the Department of Astronautics and Computer Science at the US Air Force Academy. He retired from the US Air Force as a Colonel. He was appointed a Professor at Stanford University in 1984, after six years of experience in industry.
At Stanford University, he led the development of many innovative applications of GPS, including:
Commercial aircraft (Boeing 737) blind landing using GPS alone,
Fully automatic GPS control of Farm Tractors on a rough field to an accuracy of 2 inches,
Pioneering the augmentation to GPS (WAAS) that allows any user to achieve accuracies of 2 feet and very high levels of integrity assurance.
He has been the CEO of two companies, and serves on many boards. He is the editor/author of the AIAA Award winning 2 Volumes: “GPS Theory and Applications” and is author or coauthor of over 80 technical papers. Among his many awards is the Draper Prize of the National Academy of Engineering, considered by some to be the “Engineering Nobel”.
Dr. Scott Pace
Dr. Scott Pace is Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director of the Space Policy Institute, Director of the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy and Director of the MA International Science and Technology Policy program at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. He is also a member of the faculty of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. His research interests include civil, commercial, and national security space policy, and the management of technical innovation.
Dr. Pace rejoined the faculty of the Elliott School of International Affairs in 2021 after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council from 2017-2020. He previously served as the Associate Administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation at NASA from 2005-2008 and Deputy Chief of Staff for the NASA Administrator from 2002-2003. Prior to NASA, he was the Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. From 1993-2000, he worked for the RAND Corporation's Science and Technology Policy Institute, and from 1990-1993, he served as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Office of Space Commerce, in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in 1980; Masters degrees in Aeronautics & Astronautics and Technology & Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982; and a Doctorate in Policy Analysis from the RAND Graduate School in 1989.
Dr. Pace received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2008, the US Department of State’s Group Superior Honor Award, GPS Interagency Team, in 2005, and the NASA Group Achievement Award, Columbia Accident Rapid Reaction Team, in 2004. He has been a member of the US Delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conferences in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2007. He was also a member of the US Delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications Working Group, 1997-2000. He has served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 2009, and 2011-15. Dr. Pace has been a member of the NOAA Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES), a member of the Board of Trustees, Universities Space Research Association, a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society.
