Global Positioning System

(GPS)
What is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS)

A Constellation of Earth-Orbiting Satellites Ma

intained by the United States Government for
the Purpose of Defining Geographic Positions
On and Above the Surface of the Earth. It cons
ists of Three Segments:

User Segment

Control Segment

Space Segment
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 GPS Satellites (Satellite Vehicles(SVs))

• First GPS satellite launched in 1978

• Full constellation achieved in 1994

• Satellites built to last about 10 years

• Approximately 2,000 pounds,17 feet

across

• Transmitter power is only 50 watts

or less

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GPS Lineage

• Phase 1: 1973-1979
CONCEPT VALIDATION
1978- First Launch of Block 1 SV

• Phase 2: 1979-1985
FULL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTS

• Phase 3: 1985-Present
PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT
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Precise Positioning System (PPS)

• Authorized users ONLY

• U. S. and Allied military

• Requires cryptographic equip-

ment, specially equipped recei
vers

• Accurate to 21 meters 95% of

time
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Standard Positioning Service (SPS)

• Available to all users

• Accuracy degraded by
Selective Availability until 2
May 2000
– Horizontal Accuracy: 100m

• Now has roughly same ac

curacy as PPS
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Space Segment

• 24+ satellites
– 6 planes with 55° inclin
ation
– Each plane has 4-5 sat
ellites
– Broadcasting position
and time info on 2 freq
uencies
– Constellation has spar
es
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Space Segment

• Very high orbit

– 20,200 km
– 1 revolution in approximat
ely 12 hrs
– Travel approx. 7,000mph
• Considerations
– Accuracy
– Survivability
– Coverage

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Control Segment

Monitor and Control

Colorado
Springs

Ascension Kwajalein
Hawaii
Islands
Diego
Garcia

Master Control Station

Monitor Station
Ground Antenna 10
Control Segment: Maintaining the System

• Correct Orbit
and clock
• Observe
errors
ephemeris
• Create new
and clock
navigation message

Upload Station
(5) Monitor Stations Falcon AFB 11
User Segment

• Over $19 Billion invested by DoD

• Dual Use System Since 1985
(civil & military)
• Civilian community was quick to take
advantage of the system
– Hundreds of receivers on the market
– 3 billion in sales, double in 2 years
– 95% of current users
• DoD/DoT Executive Board sets GPS
policy
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Common Uses for GPS

• Land, Sea and Air Navi

gation and Tracking

• Surveying/ Mapping

• Military Applications

• Recreational Uses

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 How the system works

Space Segment
24+ Satellites
The Current Ephe
meris is Transmit
ted to Users
Monitor Station
s
• Diego Garcia
• Ascension Island
• Kwajalein
• Hawaii
• Colorado Springs
End
GPS Control User
Colorado Springs
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Triangulation

Satellite 1 Satellite 2

Satellite 3 Satellite 4

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Distance Measuring

The whole system re Each satellite carries aro

und four atomic clocks
volves around time!!!
Uses the oscillation of cesium and
rubidium atoms to measure time

Rate = 186,000
Distance = Rate miles
x Timeper
second (Speed of Light) Accuracy?
plus/minus a second over more th
Time = time it takes sign an 30,000 years!!
al to travel from the SV t
o GPS receiver

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SV and Receiver Clocks

• SV Clocks
– 2 Cesium & 2 Rubidium in each SV
– $100,000-$500,000 each

• Receiver Clocks
– Clocks similar to quartz watch
– Always an error between satellite a
nd receiver clocks (  t)

• 4 satellites required to solve for

x, y, z, and  t
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 4

• PROBLEM • SOLUTION
– Can’t use atomic clock – Receiver clocks accur
s in receiver ate over short periods
of time
Cesium Clock = – Reset often
$$$$$$$!!! – 4th SV used to recalibr
Size of PC ate receiver clock

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Breaking the Code

Transmission Time
The Carrier Signal...
combined with…
Satellite
The PRN code...
produces the
Modulated carrier signal
which is transmitted...
demodulated...
Receiver
And detected by receiver,
Locked-on, but
With a time delay...
Time delay 19
Accuracy and Precision in GPS

• Accuracy
– The nearness of a measurement to the sta
ndard or true value
• Precision
– The degree to which several measurement
s provide answers very close to each other
.
What affects accuracy and
precision in GPS?
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Sources of Error

• Selective Availability
– Intentional degradation of G
PS accuracy
– 100m in horizontal and 160
m in vertical
– Accounted for most error in
standard GPS
– Turned off May 2, 2000

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Sources of Error

• Geometric Dilution of Prec

ision (GDOP)
– Describes sensitivity of receiver to
changes in the geometric positionin
g of the SVs
• The higher the DOP value, the p
oorer the measurement
QUALITY DOP
Very Good 1-3
Good 4-5
Fair 6
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Suspect >6
 Sources of Error

• Clock Error
– Differences between satellite cl
ock and receiver clock
• Ionosphere Delays
– Delay of GPS signals as they p
ass through the layer of charge Satellite
d ions and free electrons know
n as the ionosphere.
• Multipath Error
– Caused by local reflections of t
he GPS signal that mix with the
desired signal GPS
Antenna

Hard Surface 23
 Differential GPS

• Method of removing errors that affect GPS mea

surements

• A base station receiver is set up on a location w

here the coordinates are known

• Signal time at reference location is compared to

time at remote location

• Time difference represents error in satellite’s sig

nal

• Real-time corrections transmitted to remote rec

eiver
– Single frequency (1-5 m) = Error
– Dual frequency (sub-meter) Reference l Remote loc
ocation ation

• Post-Processing DGPS involves correcting at a www.ngs.noaa.gov/OPUS

later time 24
Online post-processing
 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)

• System of satellites and ground stati

ons that provide GPS signal correcti
ons

• 25 ground reference stations across

US

• Master stations create GPS correctio

n message

• Corrected differential message broa

dcast through geostationary satellite
s to receiver

• 5 Times the accuracy (3m) 95% of ti

me

• Only requires WAAS enabled GPS 25

 Why should I worry about datums and

Datums and Coordinate Systems

coordinate systems when using GPS?

• Many datums and coordinate s

ystems in use today

• Incorrect referencing of coordin

ates to the wrong datum can re
sult in position errors of hundre
ds of meters

• With, sub-meter accuracy avail

able with today’s GPS, careful
datum selection and conversio
n is critical!
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Geodetic Datums: What are they?

• Define the size and shape

of the earth
• Used as basis for coordinat
e systems
• Variety of models:
– Flat earth
– Spherical
– Ellipsoidal
• WGS 84 defines geoid heig
hts for the entire earth 27
Coordinate Systems: What are they?

• Based on Geodetic Datums

• Describe locations in two or three

dimensions (ie. X,Y,Z or X,Y)

• Local and Global

• Common systems
– Geodetic Lat, Long (global)
– UTM (local)
– State Plane (local)

• Variety of transformation methods

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World UTM Zones

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Geodetic Latitude, Longitude

• Prime Meridian and Equator are reference pla

nes used to define latitude and longitude

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 Which is the correct location?

Same location can have many reference positions,

depending on coordinate system used

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Hands on with GPS

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Overview of Satellite Transmissions

• All transmissions derive from a fundame

ntal frequency of 10.23 Mhz
– L1 = 154 • 10.23 = 1575.42 Mhz
– L2 = 120 • 10.23 = 1227.60 Mhz
• All codes initialized once per GPS week
at midnight from Saturday to Sunday
– Chipping rate for C/A is 1.023 Mhz
– Chipping rate for P(Y) is 10.23 Mhz

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Schematic of GPS codes and carrier phase

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