What is GPS Tracking?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The Global Positioning System is a constellation of satellites that orbit the earth twice a day, transmitting precise time and position (latitude, longitude and altitude) information. With a GPS receiver, users can determine their location anywhere on the Earth. Position and navigation information is vital to a broad range of professional and personal activities, including hiking, hunting, camping, boating, surveying, aviation, national defense, vehicle tracking, navigation and more.

The complete system consists of 27 satellites orbiting about 12,000 miles above the Earth, and five ground stations to monitor and manage the satellite constellation. These satellites provide 24-hour-a-day coverage for both two-and three- dimensional positioning anywhere on Earth. Development of the $10 billion GPS satellite navigation system was begun in the 1970s by the US Department of Defense, which continues to manage the system, to provide continuous, worldwide positioning and navigation data to US military forces around the globe. However, GPS has an even broader civilian, commercial application.