The Department of Defense satellite, GPS 2R-11, is scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on March 20, conditions permitting. Inscribed on it (see image) are Getting's name, the years of his birth and death (1912-2003), and the words he used to describe his vision, "lighthouses in the sky serving all mankind." Getting's vision has become a reality.

The GPS constellation of satellites represents a universal and indispensable utility used to guide planes, ships, troops, and precision weaponry. It also serves millions of hikers, boaters, surveyors and others interested in determining their precise location at a moment's notice.

GPS 2R-11 is a replacement satellite that will bring the total number in the constellation to 29. The $45 million satellite will have a life expectancy of about 10 years once it achieves orbit.

"We are pleased to officially dedicate this satellite to Dr. Getting who saw the need for satellite navigation and worked tirelessly to make it happen to all our benefit," said Lt. Gen. Brian A. Arnold, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command.

"Dr. Getting was a true space visionary and pioneer," said Dr. William F. Ballhaus Jr., president and Chief Executive Officer of The Aerospace Corporation, which provides engineering support to maintain and upgrade the constellation.

"He not only laid the groundwork for GPS, but left his imprint on many other highly successful defense and technology programs integral to our national security and well being."

Getting, who served as president of The Aerospace Corporation when it was established in 1960 until 1977, died Oct. 11, 2003. Earlier in 2003 he was recognized, along with Dr. Bradford W. Parkinson of Stanford University, by the National Academy of Engineering for inventing GPS. Getting and Parkinson, chair of the board of trustees at Aerospace, were awarded the prestigious Charles Stark Draper Prize for their achievement.

Getting was cited for envisioning a system that would use satellite transmitters to pinpoint with extreme accuracy locations anywhere on Earth, then becoming a tireless advocate for making sure the complex system was built after it was shown it would work, while Parkinson was considered the architect of the system.

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