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 system
Smartphone app illuminates power consumption
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors ...
High-speed chase ends when OnStar halts stolen SUV
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- When two Visalia, Calif., police officers swung their cruisers behind a sport utility vehicle that had been carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday, they prepared for a dangerous high-speed chase.
West Antarctic ice sheet may not be losing ice as fast as once thought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 19, 2009 |
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New ground measurements made by the West Antarctic GPS Network (WAGN) project, composed of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, and The University of Memphis, suggest ...
NY state seeks to crack down on wayward truckers
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- New York state wants to crack down on truckers who rely on satellite devices to direct them onto faster but prohibited routes and end up crashing into overpasses that are too low for their rigs.
Motorola Provides World's First Live 2.6GHz TD-LTE Drive Demonstration
Oct 05, 2009 |
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Motorola announced today that it has successfully deployed a Time Division Duplex Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) network in the streets of Geneva to support China Mobile Communications Corporation’s presence ...
Sichuan quake was once-in-4,000-year event: scientists
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 27, 2009 |
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People who were killed, injured or bereaved in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake had the cruel misfortune to be victims of an event that probably occurs just once in four millennia, seismologists said on Sunday.
Room's Ambience Fingerprinted By Phone
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Your smart phone may soon be able to know not only that you're at the mall, but whether you're in the jewelry store or the shoe store.
Once feared extinct, Angolan sable wins new hope for survival
Sep 22, 2009 |
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They are Angola's national symbol and the nickname for the country's football team -- yet fewer than 100 are believed still alive.
Astronauts take mission's 3rd and final spacewalk
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Two spacewalking astronauts took on cable and antenna work at the international space station Saturday in their final trek outside, but encountered last-minute difficulty with a connector and had ...
Scientists show that people really walk in circles when lost (w/ Video)
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in the Multisensory Perception and Action Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, led by Jan Souman and Marc Ernst, have now presented ...
'Hydropalooza' provides deeper understanding of Alaska's Kachemak Bay
Aug 13, 2009 |
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NOAA ships and scientists have returned to Alaska's Kachemak Bay to kick off year two of Hydropalooza — a NOAA-led project to develop the most detailed seafloor and coastline maps ever generated of the area.
Rare Angolan antelope tracked by research team
Jul 27, 2009 |
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A rare Angolan antelope feared to have been killed off during a 27-year civil war has been located, giving hope for the future preservation of the species, a government official said Monday.
Technology on way to forecasting humanity's needs
Jul 23, 2009 |
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Much as meteorologists predict the path and intensity of hurricanes, Indiana University's Alessandro Vespignani believes we will one day predict with unprecedented foresight, specificity and scale such things as the economic ...
Human Movement Plays Critical Role in Disease Transmission
Jul 21, 2009 |
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To control mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, researchers need to look at the behavior of people, not just the insect that transmits the disease, according to new research by Steven Stoddard of the University ...
Breakthrough in 3-D Brain Mapping Enables Removal of Fist-Sized Tumor
Jul 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient's brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized ...
