The US military forces launched the first GPS satellite in 1978. Since then, more then three dozens satellites have been launched on Earth’s orbit, servicing not only military and aviation forces but individual private users worldwide. In the history of the Global Positioning System, more than just one GPS satellite has been lost during launches or afterwards. Some orbiting devices were taken out of service, others required replacements for technical purposes, but what matters most is how the technology is applied in the performance of daily tasks. A GPS receiver decodes the signal sent by the satellite and gives the exact location based on latitude, longitude and altitude.
Presently, almost any smartphone includes a form of GPS satellite navigation with different mapping support and applications. People depend more and more on GPS orientation and problems may appear if replacements do not come for the orbiting satellites that will expire in a few years. For the moment, there are management and funding issues that seem to act against the proper reconditioning of the Global Positioning System. The US Air Force is in charge of the entire GPS satellite structure, but according to a recent May 2009 report, there are economic difficulties to be overcome.
The average user will hardly notice if any of the 31 orbiting satellites will fail, because normally, four satellites at time on the sky are enough to provide adequate information. There is a certain redundancy in the way information is provided, because sometimes, six up to eight satellites can get connected to a GPS receiver for the same tasks. But in the eventuality of no real time positioning with the GPS satellite structures, we’d have to return to the use of maps all over again. The military, maritime and transportation systems would be the most affected if the satellites are not reconditioned.
The European states are preparing the launch of an independent satellite navigation system in 2010 that would be an alternative to the American GPS satellite applications that are now most popular. There are other countries that have individual satellite navigation and here we can count India, China or Russia. No matter how things are sorted out in terms of administration, implementation and foreign policy at the global level, the average user will not be affected by the different modifications in the way the GPS satellite communication works. More and more people will in fact start using GPS devices for increased efficiency of navigation.
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When the author isn’t being tracked, she has a collection of interests in psychic readings, Seattle HCG diet, and BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector.
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