The First GPS Satellite Launched (1978)

Hello there. My name is Dr. Gladys West, and I want to tell you a story about a very big puzzle. When I was a little girl, I loved math. To me, numbers weren't just for counting sheep or adding up apples. They were clues in a mystery. Every math problem was like a secret code waiting to be cracked or a puzzle waiting to be solved. I would sit for hours with my pencil and paper, feeling like a detective on a very important case. I always dreamed that one day, I would solve a really big puzzle, one that could help people all over the world. I didn't know it then, but my love for solving puzzles would lead me to help create something amazing that many of you use every single day. It all started with my big dream and a whole lot of numbers.

When I grew up, I got a very important job. My mission was to figure out the true shape of our planet, Earth. Now, you might think Earth is a perfect, round ball, like a marble or a basketball. But it’s not. It’s actually a little bit lumpy and bumpy, kind of like a potato. It has tall mountains and deep oceans that make its shape unique. My job was to create a super-accurate map of this lumpy potato planet. To do this, I used giant computers that were as big as a whole room. These computers were my special tools. I gave them lots of numbers and information, and they helped me draw the most detailed map of the Earth ever made. It was a secret project back then, but we were building this map for a very special reason. We wanted to create a system that could help anyone, anywhere in the world, know exactly where they were and where they needed to go. It was a huge puzzle, and I was so excited to be a part of solving it.

After all my hard work, the most exciting day arrived. It was February 22nd, 1978. All of my calculations, my super-accurate map of our lumpy Earth, were put inside a special satellite. We called it Navstar 1. I watched as a giant rocket carried our satellite up, up, up into the sky. It was going all the way into space to become a ‘star helper.’ I felt so proud and a little nervous, watching my puzzle pieces fly toward the stars. That little star helper, and others that followed it, created something called GPS. That stands for Global Positioning System. Have you ever been in a car when your parents used a map on their phone to find their way? That’s GPS. It’s like having a map in your pocket that talks to the star helpers I worked on. My dream of solving a big puzzle came true. So remember, always be curious and keep solving your own puzzles. You never know when your idea might change the world, too.