Last week I went over to the opposite coast for some UAV work. When we got over to the area we struck out searching for some NGS points. One that had looked promising was on Coast Guard property. We had initially skipped it because it was still dark when we arrived and the fence not only had barbed wire, but there were some signs warning against entry. We returned later and the South portion of the property had a cluster of points so I figured I'd try to get permission to enter. There was also a CORS onsite. I got the facility manager to let us in and He began to tell us about the property and how it previously belonged to the Navy and was part of an original GPS network of base/reference stations. He had lots of good stories about scientists in white lab coats, medivac calls via satellite phone from Antarctica, a secret nearby CIA location, and other various details about what used to take place on the property. There were cameras everywhere with thermal, and other sensors I didn't bother to ask about. I was busy checking some of the various points and there were a plethora of monuments & brass disks so there was at least some truth to what He was telling us. He told the guy I had with me this was the origin of GPS along with a reference station in Washington. Here's a pic of a concrete pad with brass disks. We didn't get to see any scientists, strike teams, Jason Bourne type characters, Men in Black, or underwater ghosts, etc. The property is now part of a University research division. Kind of a fun highlight along with fodder for exaggerated stories and professional lying.
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I had a GPS class at ODU years back taught by Dr. John Love from the NGS.?ÿ He was a huge wealth of knowledge and talked a bit about the VLBI units that were hauled around on trailers.
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More interested in the VLBI telescope on the site. It, VLBI, remains an important geodetic technique. Many sites have multiple sensors. See the following links for info on sensors at various worldwide sites that provide essential information for modern reference frames.
https://space-geodesy.nasa.gov/docs/2013/FortDavis_sitebaselinereport_v0.pdf?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ
This is the Ft Davis Observatory in Texas.
https://cddis.nasa.gov/Techniques/VLBI/IVS_Summary.html
Link to information on the worldwide VLBI effort.
https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/corbin/iss/reports/WashingtonSiteLocalTieSurvey.pdf
This is a report on a site survey linking all the sensors together.
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For an exhaustive collection of photos of early efforts towards world-wide geodetic surveying see: https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/Geodesy
I wonder how many are aware of the BC4 camera program? Some of the observers are still around.?ÿ
As for the early days of NAVSTAR GPS, remember that it was not originally intended for civilian use. It was due to the efforts of academics like Counselman that methods were devised to use the signal without knowledge of the codes. NAVSTAR is a acronym for NAVigation by Satellite Timing And Ranging.?ÿ
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