GPS U.S. Satellite Network

rgarjr · 02-25-2008, 07:17 PM

Is the U.S. the only country that has the GPS satellite network? What I'm wondering is, do people in Europe or Asia use the U.S. satellites as well?

Bugbyte · 02-25-2008, 09:26 PM

The 'G' in GPS stands for global. That means it works anywhere in the world. You are probably confused because you think that since it is U.S. owned, it only works in the U.S. or is only usable by U.S. citizens.

Gallileo is the European counterpart to the U.S. GPS system. It is due to become operational in 2013. It is a civilian system.

Glonass is the Russian satellite navigation system but fell into disrepair upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is in the process of being revitalized and is due to become operational in 2009.

Of the three systems, GPS is essentially the only current choice for civilian use.

rgarjr · 02-25-2008, 10:08 PM

Yeah I did a little reading on wiki, seems that a few countries have their own little constellations of satellites. It's just amazing how many satellites are up there.

Bugbyte · 02-26-2008, 09:10 AM

You need 24 to cover the globe and you need four in site at any time to get a reasonably accurate fix. It really is an amazing system. Consider that in car navigation was a problem that wasn't solvable just a few years ago.