AEN-88: the Global Positioning System
AEN-88 The Global Positioning System Tim Stombaugh, Doug McLaren, and Ben Koostra Introduction cies. The civilian access (C/A) code is transmitted on L1 and is The Global Positioning System (GPS) is quickly becoming freely available to any user. The precise (P) code is transmitted part of the fabric of everyday life. Beyond recreational activities on L1 and L2. This code is scrambled and can be used only by such as boating and backpacking, GPS receivers are becoming a the U.S. military and other authorized users. very important tool to such industries as agriculture, transporta- tion, and surveying. Very soon, every cell phone will incorporate Using Triangulation GPS technology to aid fi rst responders in answering emergency To calculate a position, a GPS receiver uses a principle called calls. triangulation. Triangulation is a method for determining a posi- GPS is a satellite-based radio navigation system. Users any- tion based on the distance from other points or objects that have where on the surface of the earth (or in space around the earth) known locations. In the case of GPS, the location of each satellite with a GPS receiver can determine their geographic position is accurately known. A GPS receiver measures its distance from in latitude (north-south), longitude (east-west), and elevation. each satellite in view above the horizon. Latitude and longitude are usually given in units of degrees To illustrate the concept of triangulation, consider one satel- (sometimes delineated to degrees, minutes, and seconds); eleva- lite that is at a precisely known location (Figure 1). If a GPS tion is usually given in distance units above a reference such as receiver can determine its distance from that satellite, it will have mean sea level or the geoid, which is a model of the shape of the narrowed its location to somewhere on a sphere that distance earth.
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