The US military forces launched the first GPS satellite in 1978. More than thirty other satellites have been launched ever since for military, aviation and individual usage worldwide. In the history of the Global Positioning System, more than just one GPS satellite has been lost during launches or afterwards. Some satellites were taken out of service, others required replacements for technical purposes, but what matters most is how the technology is applied in the performance of daily tasks. The decoding of the satellite signal is done by a GPS device or receiver that provides the exact geographical location according to three-dimensional coordinates.
Science has made such progress that GPS satellite navigation is now incorporated in the design of smartphones. The GPS seems to have become an integrated part of people's life, but one has to wonder what will happen in a couple of years when the now orbiting satellites will have to be replaced. At present, there are funding and management issues that impair the proper reconditioning of the GPS applications. The US Air Force is in charge of the entire GPS satellite structure, but according to a recent May 2009 report, there are economic difficulties to be overcome.
At present there are some 31 satellites in service and since only four are necessary to get a fix on the position, the average user will not feel a change if some of the orbiting devices fail to work. Sometimes information may get redundant as the same GPS receiver can get simultaneous data from six or eight satellites, which is more than necessary. But in the eventuality of no real time positioning with the GPS satellite structures, we'd have to start using maps all over again. The military, maritime and transportation systems would be the most affected without GPS satellite reconditioning.
The European states are preparing the launch of an independent satellite navigation system in 2010 that would be an alternative to the American GPS satellite applications that are now most popular. There are other countries that have individual satellite navigation and here we can count India, China or Russia. Regardless of how things are managed in terms of administration, implementation and foreign policy at the global level, the average user will not be affected by the different modifications in the way the GPS satellite communication works. More and more people will in fact start using GPS devices for increased efficiency of navigation.
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The Author has been writing articles for nearly 4 years. Come visit his latest website over at GPS Navigation Reviews which has a ton of information on GPS Navigation including how GPS Navigation has come a long way along with all the news, information and resources on GPS Navigation today.
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