First Orbiter in Network to Rival GPS Launched
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Europe launched the first in a planned network of orbiters expected to make navigation on Earth by satellite more precise, wider-ranging and free of U.S. control.
Test satellite Giove A shot skyward from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. Four hours later it began transmitting the first test signals of the $4-billion rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System.
The American military network has grown around the world to reach civilian users, including commercial airline pilots and lost hikers. But the military retains control and could disable the network.
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