History of the GPS

The Global Positioning System, or the GPS, is a collective system of different satellites which facilitates the calculation of positioning on the earth. It gives positions with utmost accuracy using an electronic receiver.

The GPS receiver works out positions by timing signals that are sent by the constellation of other GPS satellites placed way above the earth. It does this in a careful manner. Every satellite repeatedly sends messages having the time that the message has been sent, the exact course of the satellite that is sending that message and the estimated courses of all other GPS satellites giving the general health of the system. The GPS signals are transmitted at the speed of light. The receiving vessel takes the time of arrival of every message to calculate the space or distance of every satellite. From this information, it decides the position of the receiving vessel. The eventual coordinates are then converted to become more legible and user friendly, in forms of latitudes and longitudes. This information is then displayed for the user.

The GPS, the only complete and fully well-designed Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), uses an assemblage of roughly 24 & 32 satellites at medium earth orbit. It transmits specific signals using microwaves and makes possible the GPS receivers to be able to determine the present location, velocity and time.

GPS was created by the USA, Department of Defence (DoD) and it’s officially called NAVSTAR-GPS. The satellite constellations are run by the 5th Space Wing of the United States Air Force. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan made GPS available freely to civilians for common good.