The Global Positioning System Has Changed Society And The Environment

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Intro: The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation system that provides information such as location, speed and time anywhere around the world. The GPS is a network of approximately 30 satellites constantly orbiting the earth. These satellites can precisely pinpoint the location of a GPS receiver anywhere around the world. The introduction of this new technology which can be used for many purposes has changed society and the environment both positively and negatively. GPS has made navigation extremely easier, as well as making travelling safer, it also has the ability to be able to locate and track criminals. GPS can also benefit the environment by tracking endangered species of animals, aiding with weather forecasting and the prediction …show more content…

GPS can be used to do anything from car navigation to missile or drone technology and just about anything in between. The ability to pinpoint locations has made navigating an unfamiliar area in your car or on foot much easier. Emergency services can also use GPS to find their way to an incident quicker than ever before. This can be extremely useful for search and rescue teams at sea as there are no land marks to go by. (MiTAC International Corporation, 2011)
GPS is also used aircraft to greatly increase the safety and efficiency of air transport. GPS aids air travel by enabling three-dimensional positioning and speed, as well as general navigation between airport and on approach to landing in bad visibility. (National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, 2014)
Another large used of GPS is by the military for drones and missiles. GPS is used on missiles to guide the way to their target. It does this by pre-programming in the GPS coordinate of the potential target and the terrain surrounding it. When the missile is launched it reads its current GPS position and plots its route to the target. This makes it able to fly low over the terrain making it harder for radars to pick

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