The global positioning system gps originally navstar gps is a satellite based radionavigation system owned by the united states government and operated by the united states space force.
Gps satellite orbital velocity.
Each satellite in the gps constellation orbits at an altitude of about 20 000 km from the ground and has an orbital speed of about 14 000 km hour the orbital period is roughly 12 hours contrary to popular belief gps satellites are not in geosynchronous or geostationary orbits.
This equation holds for any orbiting object where the attraction is the force of gravity whether it s a human made satellite orbiting the earth or the earth orbiting the sun.
Orbital velocity is the velocity needed to achieve balance between gravity s pull on the satellite and the inertia of the satellite s motion the satellite s tendency to keep going.
The gps satellites circle the earth at an altitude of about 20 000 km 13 000 miles and complete two full orbits every day.
Each satellite broadcasts radio waves towards earth that contain information regarding its position and time.
Velocity of gps satellites global positioning system gps satellites travel approximately 14 000 km hour relative to the earth as a whole as opposed to relative to a fixed point on its surface.
The speed can t vary as long as the satellite has a constant orbital radius that is as long as it s going around in circles.
Types of satellites ephemerides used to calculate satellites coordinate.
To obtain the closed form of the gps.
A closed form of an algorithm to determine a global positioning system gps satellite s position velocity and acceleration is proposed and an earth centred earth fixed ecef to earth centred inertial eci transformation result using the civil navigation cnav message is presented in this paper.
The six orbits are tipped at 55 from the equator with four satellites per orbit see diagram.
Special relativity predicts that the frequency of the atomic clocks moving at gps orbital speeds will tick more slowly than stationary ground clocks by a factor of or result in a delay of about 7 μs day where the orbital velocity is v 4 km s and c the speed of light.
In addition the constellation has 3 backup satellites.
This is approximately 17 000 mph 27 359 kph at an altitude of 150 miles 242 kilometers.
Without gravity the satellite s inertia would carry it off into space.
It is one of the global navigation satellite systems gnss that provides geolocation and time information to a gps receiver anywhere on or near the earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to.
The gps satellites are not in a geostationary orbit but rise and set two times per day.
