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| GPS, or, Global Positioning System, is a navigation system which is comprised of a collection of satellites orbiting the Earth. Pictured below, are some examples of civilian GPS receivers, which obtain data from the orbiting satellites and provide the user with a precise global location. GPS was created by the U.S. Department of Defense. It is still maintained by them, with access being freely available for civilians use. GPS was first licensed for civilian use in 1983. The decision to make GPS available for civilian use was made when a Korean airliner mistakenly entered Russian airspace and was shot down. The US continues to develop the functionality of GPS, and in 2005 created a second civilian signal for enhanced performance. The most recent GPS satellite launched was in 2008. It's fair to say, that only in recent years has GPS become a popular civilian device. The most common civilian implementation of GPS is as an incar road travel companion, providing everyday road navigation, alongside alerts for safety cameras, speed limits and dangerous bends. GPS functionality has recently become a feature of many cellular phones. GPS was originally created for military use, to aid soldiers to find destinations in the dark, and for missile guidance. The US military closely monitors the export of GPS to foreign manufacturers of civilian receivers. Safeguards have been put in place to ensure that foreign military installations cannot use GPS for their own missile weaponry. Presently, there are a number of nations, or group of nation developing satellitenavigation systems. In various stages of development, there is China's Beidou system, the European Union's Galileo project, Russia's GLONASS system, India's IRNSS system and Japan's QZSS system. Europe's Galileo satellite system should become operational by 2013,
and looks likely to be the main competitor to the US system. The Galileo
project has drawn criticism from the US administration, who believe it
is unnecessary.
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