[time-nuts] Leap second glitches on NTP using Z3801A

[Tom Van Baak]

> Sorry for not forming my question better. I guess what I wanted to
> know is that given that the first leap second was in 1972 and that the
> first GPS satellite was launched in 1993. why was it decided to not
> incorporate leap seconds into how GPS "tells" time, but still alerts
> you to the fact that they are coming up? Or why was the decision made
> to have UTC-GPS different than UTC. My understanding is that they
> "tick" simultaneously but "tell" different times.(sorry for the
> overuse of quotes)  Is there some navigational reason? Is it actually
> intentional?
> 
> -eric

Oh yes, very intentional. Having to handle leap seconds in an
operational system is a real pain.

Systems that need an autonomous or continuous time scale
typically do not use UTC internally but translate to/from UTC
(e.g., in software). This holds for everything from a wristwatch
to a laptop to a GPS satellite.

/tvb