Global Positioning System
hideThe 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.
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News tagged with global positioning satellite
GPS shoes for Alzheimer's patients
Jun 06, 2009 |
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A shoe-maker and a technology company are teaming up to develop footwear with a built-in GPS device that could help track down "wandering" seniors suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.
GPS to track blue sheep and snow leopard
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists hope to improve the survival odds of the endangered snow leopard in Nepal by venturing into the remote Himalayas to study its main prey, the Bharal or blue sheep.
Obama's CIO: Gov't data can drive innovation
Mar 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The White House's first chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, wants Americans to have access to more government data to drive innovation and help stimulate the economy.
GOCE successfully completes early orbit phase
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 20, 2009 |
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ESA's GOCE satellite was formally declared ready for work at 01:00 CET on 20 March. During the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase beginning with separation from its booster on 17 March, GOCE was checked ...
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First phase of pan-tropical forest mapping debuting at COP15
1hour ago |
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Tropical forest loss accounts for an estimated 17% of global emissions of carbon dioxide. As part of a strategy to reduce these greenhouse gas fluxes to the atmosphere, the UNFCCC's Conference of the Parties 15 in Copenhagen ...
Breakthrough in monitoring tropical deforestation announced in Copenhagen
4 hours ago |
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Tropical forest destruction accounts for some 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But quantifying these emissions has not been easy, particularly for tropical nations. New technology, developed by a team ...
Giant iceberg spotted south of Australia
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 09, 2009 |
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A monster iceberg nearly twice the size of Hong Kong island has been spotted drifting towards Australia in what scientists Wednesday called a once-in-a-century event.
NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Passes Major Review
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's effort to deploy the first satellite mission to advance global precipitation observations from space moved closer to this goal when agency officials approved critical elements for the Global Precipitation ...
Google search getting eyes and ears
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Google search is getting eyes and ears, moving beyond typed key words to let people scour the Internet with mobile telephone cameras or spoken words in multiple languages.
Rocket launches Air Force satellite from Fla.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A rocket carrying an Air Force satellite that will be used by the military has launched from Cape Canaveral.
Galileo satellite platform tests under way
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The engineering model of the first Galileo satellites has completed platform integration tests at the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome. The platform is now undergoing functional testing. ...
New method of measuring ocean CO2 uptake could lead to climate change 'early warning system'
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
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An international team of scientists led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has developed a new method of measuring the absorption of CO2 by the oceans and mapped for the first time CO2 uptake for the entire North Atlantic.
STPSat-1 successfully completes extended mission
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 02, 2009 |
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The STPSat-1, built for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP) and operated by the DoD STP for the first year then transitioned to NRL for the last 16 months, was decommissioned on October ...
NRL Sensor Observes First Light
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 02, 2009 |
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The Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by NRL's Spacecraft Engineering Department and Space Science Division, launched October 18, 2009 on the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite ...
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