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GPS satellites have a little-known ‘Millennium Bug’ problem of their own


Do you remember the panic surrounding the Millenium Bug? Computer programs, built when storage space was at a premium, would often represent years as two digits. 1998 would appear as 98, and so on. When the millennium arrived, these two-digit years would roll over to 00, with some programs interpreting this as 1900. While the Millennium Bug was resolved without incurring any real damage or disruption to businesses or users, the causes of the issue are frequently seen in other systems from the same era — GPS, for example. Designed in the 1970’s, the computer systems on the GPS satellites…

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