X Marks the Spot

Scientists from the Louisiana State University (LSU) Louisiana Spatial Reference Center recently installed one of two GPS stations at the Michoud Assembly Facility.  The stations represent how LSU, NASA, the  National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the private sector, have come together to harness space technology to make New Orleans a safer and more prosperous place to live and work. One of the stations, called “Moon,” uses signals from over 35 American and Russian satellites to determine its position so accurately it is being used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build hurricane protection levees that protect the city. Homeowners will benefit because surveyors can use the publicly available data from “Moon” to prepare FEMA flood certificates that are both accurate and inexpensive. In fact, the stations at Michoud will benefit all people living throughout the state because these stations strengthen  the backbone of the official positioning system of the state, the LSU GULFNET system.


Roy Dokka, left, and Randy Osborne, right, from the Louisiana Spatial Reference Center install the first of two GPS Survey Bench Marks at the Michoud Deep Well. Image credit: Jacobs Technology

One thought on “X Marks the Spot”

  1. So to be clear the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building another round of levies to protect NO from a hurricane…. I guess I just dont understand how it will be different this time and how the GPS station will help. I do realize that this article is waaay above my pay grade but I just wanted to understand

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