GPS

What is GPS and how does

it work?
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation system using
satellites, a receiver and algorithms to synchronize location,
velocity and time data for air, sea and land travel.

The satellite system consists of a constellation of 24 satellites in

six Earth-centered orbital planes, each with four satellites, orbiting
at 13,000 miles (20,000 km) above Earth and traveling at a speed
of 8,700 mph (14,000 km/h).

While we only need three satellites to produce a location on earth’s

surface, a fourth satellite is often used to validate the information
from the other three. The fourth satellite also moves us into the
third-dimension and allows us to calculate the altitude of a device.
Three Elements of GPS
GPS is made up of three different components, called segments, that work together to provide
location information.
The three segments of GPS are:

• Space (Satellites) — The satellites circling the Earth, transmitting signals to users on
geographical position and time of day.
• Ground control — The Control Segment is made up of Earth-based monitor stations, master
control stations and ground antenna. Control activities include tracking and operating the
satellites in space and monitoring transmissions. There are monitoring stations on almost
every continent in the world, including North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and
Australia.
• User equipment — GPS receivers and transmitters including items like watches,
smartphones and telematic devices.
What are the uses
of GPS
There are five main uses of GPS:

1) Location — Determining a position.

2) Navigation — Getting from one location to another.
3) Tracking — Monitoring object or personal
movement.
4) Mapping — Creating maps of the world.
5) Timing — Making it possible to take precise time
measurements.
 • Physical obstructions: Arrival time measurements
can be skewed by large masses like mountains,
buildings, trees and more.
• Atmospheric effects: Ionospheric delays, heavy
storm cover and solar storms can all affect GPS
Factor that can hinder devices.
GPS accuracy : • Ephemeris: The orbital model within a satellite could
be incorrect or out-of-date, although this is becoming
increasingly rare.
• Numerical miscalculations: This might be a factor
when the device hardware is not designed to
specifications.
• Artificial interference: These include GPS 
jamming devices or spoofs.
 GPS technology has been used globally
throughout history. The launch of Russia’s

A brief
Sputnik I satellite in 1957 ushered in the
possibility of geolocation capabilities and
soon after, the U.S. Department of Defense
began using it for submarine navigation.

history In 1983, the U.S. government made GPS

publically available, but still kept control of

of GPS
the available data. It wasn’t until 2000 that
companies and the general public gained
full access to the use of GPS, eventually
paving the way for greater GPS
advancement.
Global Navigation Satellite
System
Global Navigation Satellite
Systems (GNSS)
A GPS is considered to be a Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) — meaning it is a satellite navigation system with global
coverage. As of 2020, there are two fully operational global navigation
satellite systems: the U.S. navigation signal timing and ranging
(NAVSTAR) GPS and Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System
(GLONASS). The NAVSTAR GPS consists of 32 satellites owned by the
U.S. and is the best-known and most widely-utilised satellite system.
Russia’s GLONASS consists of 24 operational satellites with three
remaining as spares or in testing.
GPS vs GNSS
Though GPS is a subset of GNSS, receivers are differentiated as
GPS (meaning GPS-only) or GNSS. A GPS receiver is only capable
of reading information from satellites in the GPS satellite network,
while the typical GNSS device can receive information from both
GPS and GLONASS (or more than these two systems) at a time.

GNSS is used in collaboration with GPS systems to provide precise

location positioning anywhere on earth. GNSS and GPS work
together, but the main difference between GPS and GNSS is that
GNSS-compatible equipment can use navigational satellites from
other networks beyond the GPS system, and more satellites means
increased receiver accuracy and reliability. All GNSS receivers are
compatible with GPS, but GPS receivers are not necessarily
compatible with GNSS.
History of GPS

www.aiaa.org
• In 1951, Dr. Ivan Getting designed a three-dimensional, position-
finding system based on time difference of arrival of radio signals.
Shortly after the launch of Sputnik scientists confirmed that Doppler
distortion could be used to calculate ephemerides, and, conversely, if
a satellites position were know, the position of a receiver on earth
could be determined. Within two years of the launch of Sputnik the
first of five low-altitude “Transit” satellites for global navigation was
launched. In 1967, the first of three “Timation” satellites
demonstrated that highly accurate clocks could be carried in space. In
parallel with these efforts, the 621B program was developing many of
the characteristics of today’s GPS system.
• In 1973 these parallel efforts were brought together into the NAVSTAR-Global
Positioning System, managed by a joint program office headed by then-colonel Dr.
Brad Parkinson at the United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization.
This office developed the GPS architecture and initiated the development of the first
satellites, the worldwide control segment and ten types of user equipment. Today, it
continues to sustain the system as the Global Positioning System Directorate of the
Space and Missile Systems Center.
• All performance parameters for the system were verified during ground testing by
1978. Ten development satellites were launched successfully between 1978 and 1985
and the initial ground segment that would provide the critical uploads to the satellites
was also developed. The initial constellation of 24 operational satellites was deployed
between 1989 and 1994 and the system was declared “fully operational” in 1995. It
has been sustained at that level or higher ever since.
• The initial operational satellites transmitted authorized signals on two frequencies,
designated L1 and L2, and a signal intended for open (civilian) use on the L1
frequency. GPS is currently engaged in a modernization program that will bring new
and improves services to the global user community through new generations of
satellites, referred to as Blocks. With the first Block IIR-M satellite (in 2005), a
second civil signal was added (to L2) improving the quality of the system for civil
users. Seven of these satellites are on orbit. With the first Block IIF satellite (in
2010), a third signal (L5) was added to help ensure the availability of GPS to civil
aeronautical and search-and-rescue users (called the safety of life signal). The next
generation of GPS satellites, GPS Block III, is in production. They will transmit
another new civil signal on L1 that will provide more power and enable greater civil
interoperability with other global and regional elements of the GNSS, such as
Europe’s Galileo system, Japan’s Quazi-Zenith Satellite System and others.
 GPS for Civil Use
In 1983, following the shoot-down of KAL-007 after straying off-course into prohibited airspace, the President of the United
States directed that GPS would be made available for civilian use as a common good. The GPS civil signal was initially slightly
degraded due to its potential military implications. However, in 2000, the President directed that the quality of the signal available to
civilian users would no longer be degraded. In 2004, the President released a new U.S. National Space-based Positioning, Navigation,
and Timing Policy. The 2004 policy placed the GPS system under the oversight of a National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and
Timing Executive Committee that is co-chaired by the US Deputy Secretaries of Transportation and Defense, and made up of nine
Departments and Agencies across the U.S. Government. Although GPS was originally viewed as a unique capability, other nations
have recognized the importance of this technology to their critical infrastructures and economies and are now in various stages of
implementing GPS-like systems of their own. The GPS program has worked hard to ensure these multiple satellite-based navigation
and timing systems can operate with compatibility, interoperability and transparency for all open signals. GPS made major technical
contributions to analysis techniques that predict compatibility, so systems can share spectrum for interoperability while ensuring
radio frequency compatibility is attained. In bilateral working groups and multinational fora, the U.S. Government and representatives
from Japan, Europe, India, Russia, and China and other nations have moved toward common signal designs on L1 and L5 frequencies
that will be used by civil signals in almost every system of the GNSS.
Usage of GPS in Marine
Industry
• Underwater Survey
• Buoy Placement
• Direct Positioning System
• Sweeping & dredging
• Cargo handling & monitoring (for
Shipping Container operator)
Ship navigation
guide &
automation system
Embedded into
AIS to help
vessel traffic
control
Embedded into
VDR to help
on studying the
cause of
accidents
Considerations in
Choosing Marine GPS
1. What number of Satellites Does the
Marine GPS Unit Use?

• Marine GPS units need to use no less than 12

satellites to work appropriately. In any case,
the more satellites utilized, the more exact the
device is. A top-notch unit utilizes every one of
the 24 of the satellites in the GPS system.
2. Is Unit Portable?

• Handheld models are compact and progressively minimized,

making them simpler to carry. A few marine GPS
manufacturers even make wearable models. GPS receivers
are bigger with more highlights and a greater screen. An 8-
inch display can show where the watercraft is and can
likewise oblige other applications like a fish finder. These
units are as yet removable and can be put inside a vehicle
when not being utilized on a boat.
3. Does the Unit • The additional gathering takes into
consideration quicker, increasingly
Come With an precise mapping and climate
conjectures.
Antenna Port?
4. What Safety Features Does the Unit Have?

• GPS units need to have a few different ways to shield boaters from
danger. You can even search for the rundown of security highlights and
their portrayals. With regards to sailing, security is the most imperative
interesting point. 
5. What Type of Map is Needed?

• Marine GPS units can have three basic types of mapping

systems. Everyone can have less or extra highlights;
however, the establishment is the equivalent. Non-mapping
GPS systems are reasonable for smaller lakes, yet base
mapping or propelled mapping need to be utilized for
extensive lakes or the sea, where the possibility to get lost is
a lot higher.
6. How Large is the Screen?

• A bigger screen has an enormous effect in

having the capacity to obviously see the maps
and everything displayed on the screen. A few
systems even read the format of the sea or
lake bed, so boaters know where the majority
of the stones and shallow territories are. A
bigger marine display makes it simpler to see
everything.
7. Could the • Boat GPS systems can spare data,
Unit Connect for example, courses taken, maps,
or even waypoints. Sometimes,

to a
additional maps can be
downloaded or bought. To get to
data or include more, the GPS

Computer? should most likely connect to a

marine monitor either through a
cable or by different methods.