The Global Positioning System. What is GPS? The global positioning system is a satellite-based navigation system, developed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defence, consisting of a network of 24 orbiting satellites that are eleven thousand nautical miles in space, at an inclination of 55 degrees and in six different orbital paths. The satellites are constantly moving, making two complete orbits around the Earth in just less than 24 hours. The GPS satellites are referred to …
showed first 75 words of 265 total

showed last 75 words of 265 total
…a day, 11,000 miles above the Earth transmitting their precise position and elevation. In brief, the GPS receiver acquires the signal, then measures the interval between transmission and receipt of the signal to determine the distance between the receiver and the satellite. Once the receiver has calculated this data for at least three satellites, its location on the Earth's surface can be determined. This is the basis of triangulation, which works as follows: -Determining the exact