Extended Definition:

Global Positioning System

Jeffry Salazar

English 360

12/08/2020 (REV 1)
 Global Positioning System (GPS) encompasses a satellite network that

provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing services as mentioned by the U.S. Gov’t

[1]. The system was developed by the US Department of Defense (DOD) under the satellite

program name, NAVSTAR, as said in [2, Ch. 1]. Three segments comprise the system: space,

control, and user segment. The space segment are the satellites and the control segment are

the stations on earth that are used to

maintain and operate the satellites by

the U.S. Air Force. The User segment

contains the GPS receiver, that’s

available to the public. GPS is known

for vehicle navigation, but spans many

applications including agriculture, Figure 1: The 3 GPS segments: Space, Control and User as illustrated in [3,
Fig. 1]
communications, electrical power

grids, and financial networks.

GPS History

Navigation, the GPS feature habitually used, was synthesized during the “European Age

of Discovery”, between the 15th and 17th centuries. Navigation comes from the Latin noun

navis, which means ship, and the Latin verb agare meaning to do, drive, or lead to describe the

operation of getting a ship from A to B – or the art thereof as mentioned in [2, Ch. 1].
1959: John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory develops TRANSIT, the first operational

satellite navigation system. TRANSIT was originally commissioned for the U.S.

Navy’s submarine fleet as noted in [4, Appx. B]. The technology would later be

applied to GPS.

1960: The Raytheon Company suggested a three-dimensional (longitude, latitude, and

altitude) time-difference-of-arrival navigation system, satisfying an Air Force

requirement to accurately control an Inter-continental Ballistic missile. This

system never was developed, but had the initial requirement that the Aerospace

Corporation would later use as mentioned in [4, Appx. B].

1963: The Aerospace Co. studies navigation using a space system, for a fast-moving

vehicle in three-dimensions. The concept involves measuring radio signal arrival

times, transmitted from satellites with their known locations. This allows to

calculate distance to satellites and establish user location. The Air Force supports

the study, named System 621B, discussed in [4, Appx. B].

1973: The System 621B wasn’t approved as a new navigation system. Later that year

the NAVSTAR program is approved which was a compromise by incorporating

the best existing navigation system concepts and technology noted in [4, Appx.

B]. A few of these concepts and technologies are previously mentioned in this

section.

1993: GPS has had a few system upgrades, which included upgrading and adding

satellites. Commercial applications have been available a few years and now

available at no cost to the general public as noted in [4, Appx. B].

The most common user now is the general public by sheer quantity. Anyone with a

receiver can use GPS, and now adays all it takes is a smartphone. Navigation isn’t available with

only a receiver. The receiver only calculates its position and velocity(speed) relative to the

satellite. If that is all the user has, then they would have to take out a map and plan a path to

their destination. To have navigation other support software needs to be integrated with the

receiver. This includes having a map, and knowing the destination. Then the computer (ex.

smartphone) will plan a path for a user (ex. driver).

For the receiver to get its location in space, it needs to get signals from at least four

satellites. At least four GPS satellites are always available to the receiver [5]. Four of more GPS

satellites are needed to solve the four unknowns: longitude, latitude, altitude, and time. For

example, if there were five unknowns, then five satellite signals will be needed. Time is critical

to the GPS, therefore atomic clocks are used, these are accurate to billionths of a second. The

system also has to be adjusted for

Special Relativity, with the idea that

objects closer to a large gravitational

object (Earth) experiences time faster,

therefore the satellite falls behind by

7 microseconds per day. This

difference (error in time) is in the

millionths, which would make the

system useless as said by Ashby [6].

Transportation since many major applications include servicing aviation, rail, roads, and

highways. Therefore, the DOD and Department of Transportation (DOT) manage the GPS

service for military applications, commercial and general public support as noted in [1].

Timing may not seem like a significant service, but is embedded in our daily life. The

signal accuracy allows for timing precision within a millionth of a second as mentioned in [8].

Now there are many young adults who can’t imagine a time when there weren’t smartphones

and even less simple cellular phones. The timing service is required for wireless

communications systems. How about instant updates of bank accounts, it uses to be you would

have to wait for a period of a few days for transactions to be posted as discussed in [1].

Agriculture is becoming more and more optimized, allowing for large produce yields. As

the population rises globally, farming production must increase. Efficiency and cost cutting are

made possible with GPS. By marking small parts of the whole field, a farmer can spot treat

specific areas in regards to water or pesticides. This allows to conserve water and reduce

chemical use on the fields as mentioned in [1]. When it comes to power distribution, the power

companies use the GPS time to figure out where a black out originated as suggested in [1].

Surveying and Mapping is typically integrated with other applications. You can’t use the

navigation services on your phone if there isn’t a map to apply the technology. Environmental

applications also use surveying and mapping to track flora and fauna. Including, tracking

deforestation and other large environmental changes to the surface of the Earth as mentioned

in [1].
Reference List:

[1] GPS Systems: GPS Overview, National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning,
Navigation, and Timing, April 22, 2020. Accessed on: September 28, 2020. [Online].
Available: https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/

[2] Mohinder S. Grewal, Angus P. Andrews, and Chris G. Bartone, Global Navigation Satellite
Systems, Inertial Navigation, and Integration, 4th ed. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2020.

[3] How GPS Technology Works, Tri Troung, May 19, 2010. Accessed on: September 28,
2020. [Online]. Available: http://mason.gmu.edu/~ttruong6/how.html

[4] Pace, Scott, Gerald P. Frost, Irving Lachow, David R. Frelinger, Donna Fossum, Don
Wassem, and Monica M. Pinto, The Global Positioning System: Assessing National
Policies, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MR-614-OSTP, 1995. As of September
22, 2020: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR614.html

[5] GPS Systems: Space Segment, National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning,
Navigation, and Timing, September 28, 2020. Accessed on: September 28, 2020.
[Online]. Available: https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/space/

[6] Relativity and the Global Positioning System, Neil Ashby, 2002, Physics Today, May 2002,
41.

[7] Global Positioning System, Ashley Louren, Unkown Date. Accessed on: September 28,
2020. [Online]. Available:
http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~aslouren/ASHLEYLOURENCO%27Swebpage.htm

[8] Global Positioning System, U.S. Air Force, November 23, 2015. Accessed on: September
28, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-
Sheets/Display/Article/104610/global-positioning-system/

Partitioning was the major technique I used to write the paper. I included a basic

explanation on system operation as another extended definition method. I applied

design methods and included graphics to improve the paper.