Introduction to Global

Positioning System
(GPS)
Dr. A Harinda Lakmal
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Engineering
General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Content
What is SAT NAV?
NavSTAR GPS
Chronology of GPS Historical Events
GPS Segments
GPS Applications
GPS Errors
Accuracy & Usage Limitations
What is SAT NAV?
SATellite NAVigation
System of satellites that provide autonomous
geo-spatial positioning with global coverage.
It allows small electronic receivers to
determine their location (longitude, latitude,
and altitude) to within sub centimeters using
time signals transmitted along a line-of-sight
by radio from satellites.
Satellite Positioning
1 satellite 2 satellites 3 satellites

Latitude Latitude
Longitude Longitude
Height
Satellite Positioning
4 satellites
Latitude
Longitude
Height
Time

or
X, Y, Z, t
What is SAT NAV?
Receivers calculate the precise time as well
as position.
A satellite navigation system with global
coverage may be termed a global
navigation satellite system or GNSS.
United States NAVSTAR Global
Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian
GLONASS are fully globally operational
GNSSs.
What is SAT NAV?
GPS & GLONASS encounter as GNSS–1
with
WAAS
EGNOS (EU) Regional SBAS
MSAS (Japan)
GAGAN (India)
GNSS–2
Galileo (EU)
Compass (China)
What is SAT NAV?
Regional Satellite Systems
Beidou 1 (China)
DORIS (France)
IRNSS (India)
QZSS (Japan)
Regional SBAS
GAGAN
Beidou
IRANSS
NAVSTAR GPS
Navigation System with Time And Ranging
Satellite-based radio-positioning and time
transfer system designed, financed,
deployed, and operated by the U.S.
Department of Defense in 1974.
Originally developed to meet military
requirements and expanded to the civilian
world ,later on.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
In 1972, the USAF Central Inertial
Guidance Test Facility conducted
developmental flight tests of two prototype
GPS receivers over White Sands Missile
Range, using ground-based pseudo-
satellites.
In 1978, the first experimental Block-I GPS
satellite was launched.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
In 1983, after Soviet interceptor aircraft
shot down the civilian airliner KAL 007 that
strayed into prohibited airspace because of
navigational errors, killing all 269 people on
board, U.S. President Ronald Reagan
announced that GPS would be made
available for civilian uses once it was
completed.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
By 1985, ten more experimental Block-I
satellites had been launched to validate the
concept from Falcon Air Force Station in
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
On February 14, 1989, the first modern
Block-II satellite was launched.
The Gulf War from 1990 to 1991, was the
first conflict where GPS was widely used.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
In 1992, the 2nd Space Wing, which
originally managed the system, was de-
activated and replaced by the 50th Space
Wing.
By December 1993, GPS achieved initial
operational capability (IOC), indicating a
full constellation (24 satellites) was
available and providing the Standard
Positioning Service (SPS).
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
Full Operational Capability (FOC) was
declared by Air Force Space Command
(AFSPC) in April 1995, signifying full
availability of the military's secure Precise
Positioning Service (PPS).
In 1996, recognizing the importance of GPS
to civilian users as well as military users,
U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a policy
directive declaring GPS to be a dual-use
system.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
On May 2, 2000 "Selective Availability"
was discontinued as a result of the 1996
executive order, allowing users to receive a
non-degraded signal globally.
In 2004, the United States Government
signed an agreement with the European
Community establishing cooperation related
to GPS and Europe's planned Galileo
system.
Chronology of GPS Historical
Events
November 2004, Qualcomm announced
successful tests of assisted GPS for mobile
phones.
In 2005, the first modernized GPS satellite
was launched and began transmitting a
second civilian signal (L2C) for enhanced
user performance.
GPS Segments
The system can be divided in to three major
segments.
Space Segment
Control Segment
User Segment
Space Segment
24 Satellites
6 Orbital Planes
55° Inclination
20200 km above
Earth
Orbital Radius is
20600 km
12 Sidereal hours
(11hrs 56 min)
Space Segment
Minimum perturbations of the satellite
occurs due to the inclination (i.e. 55°).
Due to the above satellite configuration four
to twelve (4-12) satellites are visible to any
place on the earth at any time.
A satellite will stay above the horizon for
around five hours.
 Space Segment – Summary of Satellite
Block Period Satellite Launch Currently in
orbit
Success Failure In Preparation Planned
and healthy
I 1978–1985 10 1 0 0 0
II 1989–1990 9 0 0 0 0
IIA 1990–1997 19 0 0 0 10
IIR 1997–2004 12 1 0 0 12
IIR-M 2005–2009 8 0 0 0 7
IIF 2010– 2 0 10 0 2
IIIA 2014– 0 0 0 12 0
IIIB Theoretical 0 0 0 8 0
IIIC Theoretical 0 0 0 16 0
Total 60 2 10 36 31
Space Segment
Block – II Block – IIR Block – IIF

Block – IIR-M
Control Segment
Master control station (MCS) - Schriever
Air Force Base (formerly Falcon AFB),
about 20 km south of Colorado Springs.
Monitoring Station - Hawaii, Kwajalein,
Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, Colorado
Springs, Colorado and Cape Canaveral.
Four (4) dedicated ground antennas -
Kwajalein, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia,
and Cape Canaveral
Control Segment
Six (6) dedicated monitor stations shared
with NGA - England, Argentina, Ecuador,
Bahrain, Australia and Washington DC
Control Segment
User Segment
The user community whom uses GPS as a
tool for wide spectrum of applications are
known as user segment. Some of these
users,
Military Officers
Navigators
Surveyors
GIS developers
Hikers
Applications of GPS - Military
Navigation
Commanders Digital Assistant – Commanders
Soldier Digital Assistant – Other Ranks
Search and Rescue
Reconnaissance
Nuclear detonation detect
GPS satellite consisting of an optical sensor (Y-
sensor), an X-ray sensor, a dosimeter, and an
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) sensor (W-
sensor)
Applications of GPS - Military
Target tracking
Various military weapons systems use GPS to
track potential ground and air targets before
flagging them as hostile. These weapon systems
pass target coordinates to precision-guided
munitions to allow them to engage targets
accurately.
• Military aircraft, particularly in air-to-ground roles,
use GPS to find targets (for example, gun camera
video from AH-1 Cobras in Iraq show GPS co-
ordinates that can be viewed with specialized
software).
Applications of GPS - Military
Missile and projectile guidance:
GPS allows accurate targeting of various
military weapons
• ICBMs,
• Cruise missiles,
• Precision-guided munitions
• Artillery projectiles.
• Embedded GPS receivers able to withstand
accelerations of 12,000 g or about 118 km/s2 have
been developed for use in 155 millimeters (6.1 in)
howitzers.
Applications of GPS - Civilian
Clock synchronization
Cellular telephony
Disaster relief/emergency services:
Geofencing
Geotagging
GPS Aircraft Tracking
GPS tours
Map-making
Applications of GPS - Civilian
Navigation
Phasor measurements
Robotics
Recreation
Surveying
Tectonics
Telematics
Fleet Tracking
GPS Range Error Sources
Error Source Range Error
SV Clock 1.0 m
SV Ephemeris 1.0 m
Troposphere 1.0 m
Ionosphere 10.0 m
Pseudo Range Noise 1.0 m
Multipath 0.5 m
Accuracy & Usage Limitations
Depends upon SA & AS
SA (Selective Availability), removed on May 2, 2000
Errors on Satellite Clocks
Errors on Satellite Coordinates
AS (Anti Spoofing)
No availability of real P code
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