Wednesday, May 25, 2011

History of GPS

History of GPS
By Abe S. Ford


Accurate navigation demands that you simply know where you're on the Earth's surface, and determining this precisely and reliably has lengthy been a tricky proposition. In centuries past, positioning was determined by the location of stars inside the sky, but the disadvantages there are obvious. Over the course of the 20th century, attempts were produced to develop a indicates of navigating that was reliable in any weather, and accurate to within some meters.

Among the a lot more effective of these was known as inertial navigation. The principle was straightforward - if you know where you are beginning out, and you keep track of what direction you're going in and at what speed, you are able to maintain track of where you might be. But this still needed you to determine your starting position utilizing other means. It had been obvious to scientists considering that the 1960s that satellite navigation, or sat nav, could be the best solution. However it wasn't until decades later that an powerful sat nav method was lastly realized.

The US military began development of the Global Positioning Program, or GPS, in 1973. After years of research and development, the first satellite was launched in 1989. It had originally been intended solely for military use, but during its development President Ronald Reagan decided that, when it was deployed, it really should be created available for civilian sat nav requirements too. In 1994, when the 24th GPS satellite was launched into orbit, the system became fully operational.

Its usefulness for civilians became right away apparent. The FAA rapidly adopted it to keep track of commercial aircraft, plus a mere year after the GPS went on the internet, the very first sat nav devices for cars were introduced to the market. The Global Positioning System has been enhancing ever considering that. Designed to operate with a minimum of 24 satellites, it presently has 30 operational satellites in orbit.

Each 1 is designed with a 10-year intended lifespan, and new, far more modernized replacements are usually being developed. As just 1 example of the improvements that have been created, the GPS originally allowed for civilian devices to be accurate within 100 meters. Most civilian receivers are now accurate to an average of 15 meters or less. The Global Positioning Method has been an enormous success, and will no doubt continue to evolve and boost.




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History of GPS

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