Before long GPS will become almost as basic as the telephone, or more likely included with every phone handset. GPS can determine positions accurate to a matter of just a few meters. In fact, amazingly with advanced equipment it is possible to achieve measurements to less than a centimeter!
It’s just like assigning every square meter on the globe a unique address. GPS receivers have become very affordable through miniaturization to just a few integrated circuits. These days GPS is becoming integrated into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making gear, farm machinery, laptop computers and especially cell phones.
Tracking mobile phones is a popular topic getting a lot of interest. Much of the discussion dealing with cell tracking, cell phone GPS and cell phone tracker software applications would be more meaningful with a GPS Satellite primer and glossary.
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that GPS receivers use to provide three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus precise time. The GPS network is made up of 3 main segments: Space Segment, Control Segment and User Segment.
The GPS Space Segment consists of twenty-four to thirty-two satellites that orbit the earth in medium earth orbit MEO. These satellites are referred to as the GPS Constellation, and they are orbiting once every 12 hours. They are not geostationary, they travel at over 7,000 mph. GPS satellites are solar powered but have battery backup for when they are in the earth’s shadow. They are placed so that there are at least 4 satellites ‘visible’ from any point on earth. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. The satellites have a lifetime of about 10 years until all their fuel runs out.
GPS Satellites are not communications satellites. Geostationary or communications satellites are parked in space 22,300 miles above the equator. These satellites are used for weather forecasting, satellite TV, satellite radio and most other types of global communications. At exactly 22,000 miles above the equator, the earth’s gravitational force and centrifugal forces are offset and are in equilibrium. This is the ideal location to park a stationary satellite. The earth rotates at about 1,000 miles an hour, and because of their high earth orbit the geo-synchronous satellites need to move at about 7,000 mph to keep position. This is just about the same speed as GPS satellites, but since geostationary satellites are 10,000 miles further away they don’t move relative to the earth.
The GPS Control Segment includes Master Control Station, an Alternate Master Control Station, and a host of dedicated and shared Ground Antennas and Monitor Stations that work together to ensure the satellites are working to specification and the data they beam down to earth is accurate.
The GPS User Segment includes of GPS receivers taking the shape of mobiles and , laptops, in-car navigation devices and hand-held tracking units along with the people that use them, and the software applications that make them function.
GPS receivers determine position by precisely timing the signals transmitted by GPS satellites. This data includes the time the message was transmitted, precise orbital information (the ephemeris), and the general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).
Consider that there is a basic difference between smartphone GPS Tracking and GPS Navigation. GPS mobile phone tracking is usually associated with a third-party maintaining records of either real-time or historical mobile phone location, while Navigation deals with the handset user figuring out how to get from point A to point B. Neither use works without some kind of third-party software program.
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Global Satellite System FAQ
Why does GPS receiver only work outside?
GPS satellites are orbiting such that from any location on earth there are a minimum four satellites in site at any given time. Even though the satellites send signals by radio wave, the signal needs a clear of site to the receiver. If the GPS satellite drops behind the horizon, or a building, or even heavy cloud cover, the radio signal may not reach the receiver.
What do the satellites do?
Each satellite is broadcasting the time. Both the satellite and the GPS receiver use atomic clocks for extreme accuracy. By measuring the difference between the time given by the satellite and the time in the GPS receiver, the GPS can calculate the distance from the satellite.
How do GPS satellites know their location?
The satellites keep position archived internally in calculated tables. But they can deviate off course over time. To make adjustments, the satellite communicates with fixed reference stations positioned around the globe. Each time it connects with the ground stations, the satellite adjusts its internal location tables.
Does a GPS receiver transmit information back to the satellite?
No, they don’t do that. GPS equipped mobile phones will send information but not to the satellite.
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