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It's not just time zones and leap seconds. SI seconds on Earth are slower because of relativity, so there are time standards for space stuff (TCB, TGC) that use faster SI seconds than UTC/Unix time. T2 - T1 = [God doesn't know and the Devil isn't telling.]
"Wouldn't be able to" is a bit of a stretch, since Thomas Maps existed long before GPS. But it wouldn't be so easy as it is now.