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Essay / The Global Positioning System (GPS) - 1936
Introduction: The Global Positioning System, more commonly known as GPS, is a satellite system that provides navigation for almost everything, from cell phones to automobiles. This wonderful technology is essential in today's economy due to its importance in banking, financial markets, power grids, agriculture, construction and much more. It also protects human life by preventing accidents, assisting in search and rescue missions and is essential in almost all facets of military operations. There are three segments that make up the global positioning system: the space segment, the control segment, and the user segment. The segment we know is the user segment. The user segment is the one that receives GPS signals, determines the distance between a satellite and a receiver and solves navigation equations, all in order to obtain the coordinates of a specific location. The space segment consists of 31 satellites, but there are at least 24 satellites available located approximately 6,000 to 12,000 miles above Earth. These satellites are arranged this way because it ensures that at least four satellites are literally in view. any point on earth. This ensures the accurate and efficient operation of the global positioning system. The last segment of GPS, but arguably the most important, is the control segment. The control segment is a global network of facilities that track satellites in space and ensure their proper operation. This includes monitoring their transmissions, analyzing them, and sending them commands and data. The control segment has three parts; the main control station, monitoring stations and ground antennas. The main control station is responsible...... middle of paper ......GPS.gov: GPS Overview. Np, September 1, 2013. Web. December 28, 2013. .Blewitt, Geoffrey. "Basics of GPS technique: observation equations." Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. Np, and Web. January 1, 2014.B.Langley, Richard. “The mathematics of GPS.” University of New Brunswick. Np, and Web. January 1, 2014. .Three segments of GPS. Nd -, University of Texas. .B. Thompson, Richard. “Global Positioning System: The Mathematics of GPS Receivers.” Mathematics Review. University of Arizona, nd Web. January 1, 2014. http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdfGPS Orbit. Nd Government of the United States of America, USA Space Seg. Internet. January 1. 2014.