Introduction:
The Global Positioning System, more commonly called the GPS is a satellite based system that provides navigation for almost everything from cell phones to automobiles. This wonderful technology is very vital in today’s economy because of its prominence in banking, financial markets, power grids, farming, construction and so much more. It also protects human life by preventing accidents, helping in search and rescue missions and is critical to nearly every facet of military operations. There are three segments that make up the global positioning system: the space segment, the control segment and the user segment. The segment we are familiar with is the user segment. The user segment is what receives GPS signals, determines the distance between a satellite and a receiver and solves the navigation equations, all in order to obtain the coordinates of a specific place. The space segment consists of 31 satellites but there is an availability of at least 24 satellites that are approximately 6 000-12 000 miles above the earth.
These satellites are arranged in this way because it ensures that at least four satellites are in view from literally any point on earth. This ensures the accurate and efficient operation of the global positioning system. The last but arguably the most important segment of the GPS is the control segment. The control segment is a global network of facilities that track the satellites in space and ensure they are functioning properly. This includes monitoring their transmissions, performing analyses on them and sending commands and data to them. There are three parts to the control segment; the master control station, monitor stations and ground antennas. The master control station is responsib...
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Ken Jennings was a map nerd from a young age himself, you will not be surprised to learn, even sleeping with an old creased atlas at the side of his pillow, most kids his age were cuddling with a trusted blanket- Jennings was not. As he travels the world meeting people of kindred spirits--map librarians, publishers, geocachers, and the engineers behind google maps. Now that technology and geographic unknowing is increasingly insulting us from the space and land around us, we are going to be needing these people more than ever. Mapheads are the ones who always know exactly where they are and...
Latitude- is an artificial system of individuation of sites on the Earth's surface. Latitude are the horizontal lines running across the globe, that is from east to west are called lines of latitude. They are parallel to the equator, and are numbered in degrees North or South of the equator. Latitude determines the position of a place.
NSSS states a few current trends in space as being “congested and contested” (NSSS, 8), which is shaping our space strategic environment as well as fueling debates for space weapons. “Congested” trend refers to the current “60 nations and government consortia that own and operate satellites and the expectation to have 9000 satellite communication transponders in orbit by 2015.
The new world geodetic system called WGS84 is an acronym for World Geodetic System 1984. It is a standard for various activities related to mapping for an example: Navigation, Cartography and Geodesy. The World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) is the datum used by the Global Positioning System (GPS). Within the World Geodetic System (WGS), there are several datums that have been in use throughout the years.
Geographic segmentation is when the market is divided into locations, regions, countries, cities, states and so forth. In the advertisement, geographical segmentation is identifiable when the guy, Ian Rappaport is taken from the bar into the city, where they make a stop in actress; Minka Kelly’s dressing room and they move on further to another location where he meets actor; Don Chead...
TerraCog is known for its ability to convert user feedback into products that outmatch its competitors in addressing customer needs. GPS products offered by TerraCog are lauded for their durability and value-added features. In 2006, Posthaste, a competitor, launched a GPS product called BirdsI which used satellite imagery as display. BirdsI has a visual appeal to the customers and has shown impressive sell-through rates last year. Consequently, customers have been demanding a product with satellite imagery display from TerraCog.
My interest in satellite surveillance did not really appear to after I saw the movie "Enemy of the State" in 1998. The synopsis of the movie is: Robert Dean (Will Smith) is a labor lawyer who is unknowingly in possession of evidence related to a serious politically motivated crime. Government agents eager to hide their guilt believe that Dean is on to them, and proceed to turn his life upside-down, ruin his reputation, and frame him for various incidents, thanks to the latest in high-tech government surveillance techniques. In an attempt to clear his name and reclaim his life, Dean teams up with the reclusive Brill (Gene Hackman), a former federal employee who has as much high-tech equipment and expertise as the government itself. Smith scores as a man who is desperate to reclaim his identity and prove his innocence. This intense technological thrill-ride from director Tony Scott questions how much access the government should have to the communications of private citizens, and leaves the viewer with the unsettling feeling that Big Brother is definitely watching. After this movie I was amazed that we have the capability in our hands to do this. I have two scenes from the movie that show the technology at work.
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Space related activities strengthen our national safety, sustainability, stability and security in space and supports our national security. Space poses challenges as it becomes increasingly congested, contested, and competitive of a domain (Defense, 2012). Increasing tensions in recent years, among
RADAR is a term is used to refer to electronic equipment that perceive the presence, course, altitude, and distance of objects by using reflected electromagnetic waves. The term radar is in fact an acronym made up of the words radio detection and ranging (RADAR = RAdio Detection And Ranging). The fundamental basics of RADAR is built upon electromagnetic radiation. RADAR utilises radio waves which is a type of electromagnetic wave on the electromagnetic spectrum. RADAR finds target objects by sending out radio waves that bounce off targets as a radio echo. These echoes are then measured to detect the distance between the target and the RADAR system. These radio waves are not affected by lack of visibility and also penetrates weather to
There was a time a person would use a roadmap to get from one location to another. Some also would stop and ask for directions. Today, you seldom see paper maps and people stopping at a local gas station for directions. Many vehicles come with a navigation system that provides a real-time map of the vehicle’s current location as well as systematic directions to requested destination.
The Global Positioning System consists of three sections, 1.satellites which are orbiting the planet, 2.there are numerous control/monitoring centers here on the ground, and 3. gps receivers which are used by their owners. The satellites send down signals from orbit, which are received by GPS receivers on the ground in the air or on the water, the GPS receiver then converts this information into a location longitude, latitude and altitude along with time.
A satellite is defined as an object that orbits or revolves around another object. In basic terms, this relationship is due to the gravitational pull of the larger object while the smaller one has enough velocity and momentum to circle the larger one (Fitzgerald &Dennis). This is a good definition if one is only speaking of the broad principles of why and how objects attract one another and where in nature this occurs. The billions of stars and planets together make up a vast network of orbiting objects that each can rightfully be called satellites. By studying the way the Universe and Solar System works, scientists have been able to send man made devices into earth's orbit to serve the needs of a technologically developing world.