News tagged with global positioning satellite

Glitch shows how much US military relies on GPS

A problem that rendered as many as 10,000 U.S. military GPS receivers useless for days is a warning to safeguard a system that enemies would love to disrupt, a defense expert says.

Technology / Telecom

created Jun 01, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 7

GPS getting an upgrade - for $8 billion

(PhysOrg.com) -- GPS is getting an upgrade costing $8 billion (US), which aims to increase the system's accuracy, improve its reliability, and make the technology even more widespread.

Technology / Telecom

created May 25, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 15 | with audio podcast report

US military developing geolocation system for underground

(PhysOrg.com) -- The US military is studying the feasibility of a system that could allow them to accurately navigate in enemy underground tunnels, an environment in which GPS does not work.

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created Mar 11, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (13) | comments 6 | with audio podcast report

Researchers show how far South American cities moved in quake

The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet to the west, and shifted other parts of South America as far apart as ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Mar 08, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (15) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

GPS satellites not 'falling out of the sky': Air Force

You can put those maps away. The US Air Force has shot down fears that the space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) is going to crash.

Technology / Telecom

created May 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3

GPS System Could Start Failing by Next Year

(PhysOrg.com) -- A federal watchdog agency has warned the U.S. Congress that the GPS system could start failing in 2010 and beyond. Due to delays in launching replacement satellites and other circumstances, ...

Technology / Telecom

created May 20, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (14) | comments 11 weblog

Diet secrets of 'the Royals' -- Elephant tail hair isotopes show cattle out-munch pachyderms

Two weeks after the rains begin, an elephant family named "the Royals" usually switches to a grass diet to bulk up for pregnancy and birth. But when they wandered off their African reserve one rainy season, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Biggest solar storm in years races toward Earth (Update 2)

The largest solar storm in five years was due to arrive on Earth early Thursday, promising to shake the globe's magnetic field while expanding the Northern Lights.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 07, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (14) | comments 4

China's satellite navigation system live

China's home-grown satellite navigation system launched a limited positioning service Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency said, as the country seeks to break its dependence on foreign technology.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 27, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 5

New generation GPS satellite starts tests in Colo.

A $5.5 billion upgrade to the Global Positioning System moved a step closer to launch this week when a prototype arrived at a Lockheed Martin complex in Colorado to begin months of tests.

Technology / Telecom

created Dec 13, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Moon's shadow, like a ship, creates waves

During a solar eclipse, the Moon's passage overhead blocks out the majority of the Sun's light and casts a wide swath of the Earth into darkness. The land under the Moon's shadow receives less incoming energy ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 05, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers use GPS data to model effects of tidal loads on Earth's surface

(PhysOrg.com) -- For many people, Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology is little more than a high-tech version of a traditional paper map. Used in automobile navigation systems and smart phones, ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Europe defends 'stupid' Galileo satellite

Europe stood by its much-delayed and over-budget Galileo satellite navigation system on Tuesday despite a rising price tag and a contractor's description of the project as "stupid." ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 18, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 6

Forecasters keep eye on looming 'Solar Max'

The coming year will be an important one for space weather as the Sun pulls out of a trough of low activity and heads into a long-awaited and possibly destructive period of turbulence.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 29, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (37) | comments 57

Russian satellites crash into Pacific: space official

Three Russian navigation satellites crashed into the Pacific off the US state of Hawaii Sunday after the rocket carrying them failed to reach orbit, officials from the Russian space agency said.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 05, 2010 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (6) | comments 9

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. It is the only fully functional GNSS in the world, can be used freely by anyone, anywhere, and is often used by civilians for navigation purposes. It uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 medium Earth orbit satellites that transmit precise radiowave signals, which allow GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. Its official name is NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it.

Since it became fully operational on April 27, 1995, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and hobbies such as geocaching. Also, the precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a required time synchronization method for cellular network protocols such as the IS-95 standard for CDMA.

For more information about Global Positioning System, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.