What is GPS?

I)Simply put, Global Positioning System or GPS, is a technology that can give your accurate position anywhere on earth (latitude/longitude). You need a special GPS receiver that can receive signals from satellites. II)Who owns this system? The Global Positioning System is owned and operated by United States Department of Defence. But it is available freely to anyone in the world for use. Other countries have developed similar Satellite Navigation Systems of their own. For example, European Union is developing a system called Galileo and Russia has an operational system called GLONASS. Many modern receivers are capable of using signals from all these systems. III)Basically GPS System consists f 3 parts. 1. th Satellite System, 2. th Ground Station nd 3. th GPS Receiver Satellite System: th SPS satellite system consists f 24 satellites operated b th United States Airforce nd called NAVSTAR. th r solar powered nd h backup batteries t keep working during eclipses. Each satellite orbits th earth twice every day. Together th 24 satellites cover th entire earth from thr various high orbits. th r designed t orbit n such way tht t n point f time n GPS system n earth receives signals from t least 4 satellites. These satellites h atomic clocks aboard them which keep accurate time. th Ground Stations: These stations keep sending up signals t keep th data n th satellites accurate. Sometimes, th satellites go out f orbit r data n them outdated. th master ground station continuously

monitors th signals nd sends up corrected information s th data aboard th satellites accurate all th time. s, when GPS system logs n t these signals th data always accurate. GPS Receiver: GPS receiver th device use t find r way around anywhere n Earth. th receiver GPS device receives th data from th satellites nd calculates its position n earth. fr th GPS system t find th location accurately t needs t receive signals from t least 4 satellites. People who wish to stay updated and keep a track of others can ideally opt for a GPS mobile phone. With handsets installed with Global Positioning System (GPS), obtaining directions, finding a close-by hotel or

Can civilians use GPS? Yes it is allowed for civilian use, with no restriction. There are two kind of GPS signals, C/A code: which is the civilian signals and given acuracy about 8-15m P code - which is military signal and only US military can use that, which is more accurate. There are high-end civilian receivers available, called dual-frequency receivers, which uses part of P-code, not the full signal, and gives higher accuracy than single frequency receivers. Does it work in India? What are the problems faced by GPS users in India? Yes. It works anywhere on the planet where you can receive signals from the satellite. You will need a pretty clear view of the sky for GPS to work, so it won't work inside buildings, underground or even in a forest. Few years back, GPS wasn't available to it's full accuracy, but since the year 2000 it is available with full accuracy anywhere in the world and to anyone who buys a GPS receiver.

How accurate is the position given by GPS? Accuracy varies depending on the type of GPS unit. In general, you can expect the position to be within 15m of its true position on earth. Techniques like Differential GPS (D-GPS) can give accuracy less than 3m. Advanced techniques like satellite augmentation, carrier-phase GPS are used for very accurate surveys and can be accurate within centimeters. You can find links to vendors of these high end systems in Buy GPS Equipment page.

India recently announced that it is going to have its very own Global Positioning System (GPS) by 2014. This was driven more by feelings that India was lagging too far behind China. While Indias $355 million Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) was a right step in the right direction, of reducing the technology lead China has, India needs to calibrate its strategic programs to cope with China, which is the biggest potential threat.

Under the IRNSS program, India will have a constellation of seven satellites, to be raised to eleven later, which will give unprecedented operational war-time leverage to the Indian military, apart from serving as an excellent infrastructure for a host of civilian applications like in the fields of civil aviation, agriculture and fisheries. Unlike the American GPS, the IRNSS will have a limited range and that explains the R in IRNSS. However, it will provide an absolute position accuracy of more than 20 meters throughout India and within a range extending to about 2,000 kilometers around India. The IRNSS will make a huge contribution to the countrys counter-terrorism efforts as it will quickly pass specific data about impending infiltrations in border areas so that the security forces are able to deal with the infiltrators even before they enter the Indian territory. In short, infiltration by terrorists will become a thing of the past once the IRNSS gets operational by 2014. The IRNSS will, however, be eclipsed by Chinas satellite navigation system Compass that may also get operational around the same time. The Chinese Compass will have a string of as many as 35 satellites, including five geostationary ones and the rest Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Compass will cover the entire globe. The necessity of a military satellite navigation system for a nation comes to the fore during war times. Depending on a foreign SatNav system like GPS can leave Indian aircraft and weapon systems at a disadvantage. The American military grade GPS can be restricted to only U.S. forces and close American allies. A ray of hope had arisen some eight years ago when the European Galileo GPS emerged as the potential rival to the GPS. India and China became partner countries in the Galileo program with ten per cent share each, but the project has encountered one delay after another, and is still not past the prototype stage. Moreover, the European consortium never agreed to allow India or any other country have military usage of Galileo. The strategic importance of the IRNSS is enhanced all the more against this backdrop. India needs to spend much more in the IRNSS program. For example, Russia has nearly returned its GLONASS GPS system to full use, and is increasing other space related operations. GLONASS was at full strength (24 satellites) in 1995, shortly after the Cold War ended in 1991. But the end of the Cold War meant the end of the regular financing for GLONASS. Maintaining the