Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Components of a GPS System

By Byron Ash

The Global Positioning Satellite System has 3 basic parts that make the system functional. These are called segments and comprise the whole process of data requesting, data transmission, data processing and data retrieval. These three segments are the user segment, the space segment and the control segment. Without the other, the system will not work. It is a simple, yet purely segment-dependent system.

The space segment is the most advanced and the most expensive out of the three. This segment collates a net of over twenty four satellites routinely making an orbit around the plant and covering an area of responsibility. The satellites are eleven thousand nautical miles away from each other and all of them have their own orbits that they follow. Orbitting takes 12 earth hours, and each satellite is equipped with clocks that keep track, making sure that the data transmission and allowance from each other is maintained. Bumping satellites is a lot more common, especially with the amount of space debris in the upper atmosphere.

The control segment consists of various ground stations that are placed on Earth. They are stationary locations that are responsible for handling various data that goes from satellite to each monitoring station. A master control station is located at Colorado, in the Schriever Air Force Base. Six other unstaffed stations located in Hawaii, Kwajalein, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Ascension Island in the Atlantic, Cape Canaveral in Florida and another one in Colorado make up the system. There are four other large ground antenna stations that send data and monitor the satellites themselves to make sure they don't go off in an unexpected manner.

The user segment are those that are being held by the people that use this system. They are called GPS receivers, as they receive data that is sent by the satellites and processed by the ground stations. There are at least a hundred of these models scattered around the world, from something as small as a wristwatch to those in a car. The smallest could weigh as little as an ounce.

As the user sends a request, this is handled by the space segment. The space segment sends back data according to the location of the user which explains the fast response time. The monitoring stations, meanwhile, make sure that the satellites stay in order to prevent any accidents. All their collected data is sent to the master control station for processing or storage. The ground antenna from the master control station then sends needed data for the space segment to adjust in case it is needed.

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