A History of Satellite Navigation

Bradford Parkinson, Konstantin Gromov, Thomas Stansell and Ronald Beard

Abstract:	Navigation by use of earth satellites is explosively expand- ing. Current estimates are that 60,000 civil sets are being produced each month. With the increased use in automo- biles, ships and airplanes, this application of satellites is ex- pected to soon rival the communication applications. This paper traces the evolution of Satellite Navigation from the early stages of the Navy’s Transit system through the devel- opmental Navy and Air Force programs known as Timation and 621B. These early efforts contributed strongly to the synthesis of the current satelllite navigation system called GPS or NAVSTAR. GPS has demonstrated a wide range of applications from precise survey (at the millimeter level) to the landing of airplanes with positioning uncertainties of a few centimeters. The paper describes the operation of all of these systems, as well as the two Russian systems, Cicada and GLONASS. As the applications expand, GPS will touch every citizen of the world in ways that even today are not fully appreciated.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 51st Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1995) June 5 - 7, 1995 Antlers Doubletree Hotel Colorado Springs, CO
Pages:	17 - 65
Cite this article:	Updated citation: Published in NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation
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