To the surprise of the airlines, control towers began unilaterally to impose a separation of 60 nautical miles between aircraft, irrespective of their altitude.

ECONOMIST: A jam at 32,000 feet

The report calls for accelerating the use of the global positioning satellite system (GPS) in U.S. airspace and ultimately linking GPS and the air traffic control system to provide better and safer separation for planes flying in the United States.

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Cheers erupted in the control room when controllers received word of spacecraft separation.

NPR: Latest Earth Satellite Launches From Calif. Coast

One day, the company's engineers hope, drive-by-wire could link to the fancy cruise-control, lane-maintenance and vehicle-separation systems that are already being used in some Mercedes models.

ECONOMIST: Drive by wire