Roger L. Easton

Roger Lee Easton Sr. (April 30, 1921 – May 8, 2014) was an American physicist and state representative who was the principal inventor and designer of the Global Positioning System, along with Ivan A. Getting and Bradford Parkinson.

Career The Naval Research Laboratory’s managers for the Timation program and, later, the GPS program: Roger L. Easton (left) and Al Bartholomew.

In 1943, Easton began his career by joining the Naval Research Laboratory. He played a large role in developing orbiting spacecraft for military purposes.

In 1955, Easton co-wrote the Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard proposal for a U.S. satellite program in competition with two other proposals, including a proposal from the U.S. Army prepared by Wernher von Braun. The Eisenhower Administration selected Project Vanguard. In 1957, Easton invented the Minitrack tracking system to determine the Vanguard satellite's orbit. When Sputnik I was launched, Easton extended the system to actively follow unknown orbiting satellites. He also attended the University of Michigan for 1 semester before joining the Naval Research Laboratory in 1943. At the Naval Research Laboratory he worked in the Radio Division on radar beacons and blind-landing systems. Easton also worked in the laboratory's Rocket-Sonde Branch which was dealing with space related research.

Easton died on May 8, 2014, at the age of 93.

Awards Easton was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1998. George W. Bush awarded Easton the National Medal of Technology for his "extensive pioneering achievements in spacecraft tracking, navigation and timing technology that led to the development of the NAVSTAR-Global Positioning System (GPS)" in 2006. The National Medal of Technology is the highest honor awarded for technology.

During his career at the Naval Research Laboratory, Easton was awarded: