GPS Drives Interactive Map Showing Position of Test Airplane

An electronic system that comprises airborne and ground-based subsystems generates data for a global real-time interactive map (GRIM) that displays the current position and velocity of the NASA F-18 Systems Research Aircraft (SRA). This system utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine the position and velocity of the aircraft; it serves as a prototype for the development of other, similar GPS-based systems that could be used for tracking and guidance of aircraft during flight research. Such GPS-based systems could be used to augment, back up, or substitute for radar-based tracking systems; indeed, as described below, the performance of the prototype GPS-based system has been compared with that of a radar-based tracking system in initial tests.