Global Positioning Satellite
| Country/ies of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Operator(s) | AFSPC |
| Type | Military, civilian |
| Status | Operational |
| Coverage | Global |
| Accuracy | 5 meters |
| Constellation size | |
| Total satellites | 32 |
| Satellites in orbit | 31 |
| First launch | February 1978 |
| Total launches | 72 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Regime(s) | 6x MEO planes |
| Orbital height | 20,180 km (12,540 mi) |
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a space-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Air Force. It is a global navigation satellite system that provides geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
The GPS system does not require the user to transmit any data, and it operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information. The GPS system provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The United States government created the system, maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.
The GPS project was launched by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973 for use by the United States military and became fully operational in 1995. It was allowed for civilian use in the 1980s. Advances in technology and new demands on the existing system have now led to efforts to modernize the GPS and implement the next generation of GPS Block IIIA satellites and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). Announcements from Vice President Al Gore and the White House in 1998 initiated these changes. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, GPS III.
In addition to GPS, other systems are in use or under development, mainly because the US government can selectively deny access to the system, as happened to the Indian military in 1999 during the Kargil War, or degrade the service at any time.. The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) was developed contemporaneously with GPS, but suffered from incomplete coverage of the globe until the mid-2000s. GLONASS can be added to GPS devices, making more satellites available and enabling positions to be fixed more quickly and accurately, to within two meters. There are also the European Union Galileo positioning system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, India's NAVIC and Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.
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