Gps Satellite

The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978, under the direct command of the US military forces. Since then, more then three dozens satellites have been launched on Earth’s orbit, servicing not only military and aviation forces but individual private users worldwide. The very existence of the Global Positioning System has in fact claimed the life of more than one GPS satellite, lost during the launch or on the orbit. Some orbiting devices expired, others were replaced, but but no effort was spared for making GPS usage top quality. A GPS receiver decodes the signal sent by the satellite and gives the exact location based on latitude, longitude and altitude.

Presently, almost any smartphone includes a form of GPS satellite navigation with different mapping support and applications. The GPS seems to have become an integrated part of people’s life, but one has to wonder what will happen in a couple of years when the now orbiting satellites will have to be replaced. At present, there are management and funding issues that impair the proper reconditioning of the GPS applications. The US Air Force maintains the entire GPS satellite structure, the economic difficulties put a lot of stress on the managers who lack funds to invest in reconditioning.

At present there are some 31 satellites in service and since only four are necessary to get a fix on the position, the average user will not feel a change if some of the orbiting devices fail to work. Sometimes information may get redundant as the same GPS receiver can get simultaneous data from six or eight satellites, which is more than necessary. In the absence of GPS satellite real-time positioning, consumers would have to start using maps all over again. The military, maritime and transportation systems would suffer most if the satellites are not reconditioned.

The European states are preparing the launch of an independent satellite navigation system in 2010 that would be an alternative to the American GPS satellite applications that are now most popular. Besides the USA, other countries that have GPS satellite dominance are Russia, China and India, that operate their own Global Positioning systems. No matter how things are managed in terms of administration, implementation and foreign policy at the global level, the average user should not be seriously troubled by the different modifications that may occur in the GPS satellite system. In fact, the number of GPS users will get higher because of people’s attempt to improve the efficiency of navigation.

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Co-authored by: Zune Portable Players.