Satellite Navigation
Satellite Navigation
A satellite navigation system with global coverage may be termed a global navigation satellite
system (GNSS). As of December 2016, only the United States' Global Positioning System(GPS),
Russia's GLONASS, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS) and the European
Union's Galileo are global operational GNSSs. The European Union's Galileo GNSS is
scheduled to be fully operational by 2020.[1] China is in the process of expanding its regional
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System into the global BeiDou-2 GNSS by 2020.[2] India, France
and Japan are in the process of developing regional navigation and augmentation systems as
well.
Global coverage for each system is generally achieved by a satellite constellation of 18–30
medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites spread between several orbital planes. The actual systems
vary, but use orbital inclinations of >50° and orbital periods of roughly twelve hours (at an
altitude of about 20,000 kilometres or 12,000 miles).