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Engineered System

Global Positioning System

Aerospace Engineering

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where signal quality permits. It does not require the user to transmit any data, and operates independently of any telephone or Internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information. It provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. Although the United States government created, controls, and maintains GPS, it is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Year
1978 1
Infobox gives the first GPS satellite's launch date (22 February 1978); the lead states GPS became fully operational only in 1993, a fact that appears in the article's History section rather than its lead or infobox, so this width-first pass records only the infobox launch date rather than half-guessing the operational date.
Significance
It provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. Although the United States government created, controls, and maintains GPS, it is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. 1
Classification
Status
Operational 1
FAQs

Does a GPS receiver need a phone or internet connection to work?

No. A GPS receiver works independently of phone or internet reception, using only the signals broadcast from the GPS satellites.

A GPS receiver does not need to transmit any data of its own, and it operates independently of any telephone or internet reception. It works by receiving signals broadcast from the GPS satellites and calculating position and time from them. Phone and internet service can still make the positioning information more useful in practice, but neither is required for GPS itself to function.
Connections

Associated With

NavIC, Engineered Systems

India developed NavIC partly because the United States denied it Global Positioning System data for the Kargil region in 1999.

Source NavIC (Wikipedia)

QZSS is a satellite-based augmentation system built to enhance GPS coverage and precision over Japan and the wider Asia-Oceania region.

Source Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (Wikipedia)
Source Wide Area Augmentation System (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Global Positioning System (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Although the United States government created, controls, and maintains GPS, it is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.
  • Infobox, First launch field
    1978
  • status sentence
    The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31.
  • In Group: Global Satellite Navigation Systems, Introduction
    The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31.
View the Source
NavIC (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: NavIC, Background section, GPS denial motivation
Quote, Associated With: NavIC, Background section, GPS denial motivation
as happened to the Indian military in 1999 when the United States denied an Indian request for Global Positioning System (GPS) data for the Kargil region, which would have provided vital information.
View the Source
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, Lead section, GPS enhancement purpose
Quote, Associated With: Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, Lead section, GPS enhancement purpose
is a regional navigation satellite system (RNSS) and a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) developed by the Japanese government to enhance the United States-operated Global Positioning System (GPS) in the Asia-Oceania regions, with a focus on Japan.
View the Source
Wide Area Augmentation System (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Wide Area Augmentation System, lead section, para 1
Quote, Associated With: Wide Area Augmentation System, lead section, para 1
The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is an air navigation aid developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), with the goal of improving its accuracy, integrity, and availability.
View the Source
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