There's LOTS of information in there actually.
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On 13 November 1995, the Soviet Union launched the last of its high-orbiting weather-tracking satellites, named DP 201. With the widening of hostilities, the expected life of such a satellite was less than a few days. Still this device managed to survive longer, dodging even the most adamant attempts to destroy it, for reasons which have never been completely understood.
When the United States employed its orbital ASAT (antisatellite) network, it had suffered years of battles in Congress and hundreds of budget cuts. Still, what finally was put into space functioned well enough. Most Soviet spy satellites were downed in the first few months of conflict. Likewise, the USSR also made use of advanced space technology in the downing of most of America's surveillance systems in orbit. The war was a simple one of attrition: one in which neither side had an upper hand or really hoped to win.
Despite all these odds, DP 201 stayed in space, taking its pictures of all the world's weather patterns and trends, dutifully recording all information it was exposed to. It was originally designed to monitor the ozone and jet stream patterns, as well as other wind and weather patterns, but this role was expanded as time passed and more nuclear weapons were launched by both sides. The spread of fallout across the world determined which countries were to survive, and during the peak of the nuclear exchange, DP 201 was hovering over the world tracking the weather patterns.
The satellite would have given the Soviets a strong advantage during reconstruction of their nation if not for a crippling shot by one of the few automated SDI systems still in space.
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While this specifically talks about US ASAT weapons and capabilities, is it really inconceivable that the Soviets didn't have something similar?
Why would both sides be so desperate to recover one downed satellite if ANYONE had anything still up in orbit?
It just doesn't make ANY sense for operational satellites to still exist and be available for GPS.
We also know from the background materials (all versions) that "orbiting space laboratories, are abandoned as the war drags on".
Also from the nuclear target lists: "Vandenbelp AFS. CA: Recon satellite launch facilities (1 Mt ground burst)", "Spacefight Center, Cape Canaveral FL: Recon satellite launch facilities (1 MT ground burst)", "Houston, TX: Oil refining and storage facilities (1.5 Mt)", "Plesetsk, RSFSR: Recon satellite launching facilities (1 Mt)", "LeninskˇTyuralam, KSSR: Recon satellite launching facilities (2 Mt)", and "KapustJn Yar, RSFSR: Secondary satellite launching facilities (500 Kt)". There may be other control and launch sites I don't know about, but how likely is it any would have been missed given the extreme value of satellites?
As if that isn't enough, and perhaps more relevant to the thread than all the above:
Quote:
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The M1A2 in the current version of the game is the actual current production variant, and is undoubtedly the most capable tank in the world, particularly if it is operating with its supporting data networks and GPS satellites in place. In a post-holocaust world, of course, those capabilities are considerably degraded, but it's still a very tough tank.
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GPS is dead in T2K, plain and simple.