broad ocean expanses of the world. Coverage of some of these 

 areas, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, will be extremely 

 expensive and difficult. Existing navigational systems and those now 

 being developed which show promise, must be reviewed to deter- 

 mine their capability to meet the requirements of the oceanwide 

 survey. 



All phases of the National Oceanographic Program will require 

 accurate positioning information. Certain of these phases require 

 the maximum possible precision. An accuracy of 1 nautical mile 

 or less over all water areas of the world would be desirable. 

 However, economic considerations will undoubtedly dictate accep- 

 tance of a lesser accxoracy for the overall program. Because the 

 surveys will be conducted by ships of different classes with vary- 

 ing primary missions and majined by personnel with varying de- 

 grees of technical skill, certain other criteria have been estab- 

 lished. Basically, for any navigational system to be capable of 

 fully meeting the requirements of the National Oceanographic 

 Program it should be founded on four cornerstones: 



First, continuous navigational information, day and night, 

 regardless of weather conditions, over all ocean areas of the world; 



Second, an accuracy of at least 3 nautical miles, with 1 nau- 

 tical mile desirable; 



Third, reliability, ruggedness -- and here we get that word 

 ruggedness again -- and ease of operation and maintenance. For 

 certain classes of vessels, volume and weight of shipboard com- 

 ponents are important and these must not be restrictive. Ship- 

 board equipment must be such that it can be dismantled and re- 

 located to other ships with minimvim effort, expense, and inter- 

 ruption of ship schedules. 



Finally, shipboard and shore -based components must not be 

 prohibitively expensive. 



I can state categorically that no existing system is capable of 

 meeting all of these ideal characteristics. The requirements of 

 other users of navigational information, air, surface, and subsur- 

 face, are similar to those of the oceanwide survey program. 'AH 

 require extended coverage , reliable service , accurate information , 

 and economic operation . Because of the costs involved in implement- 

 ing shore-based systems, any such method chosen for the National 

 Oceanographic Program should also serve other users. 



There are two general types of aids capable of providing navi- 

 gational information over broad ocean expanses. These are self - 



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