Global Positioning System (GPS)

GPS is a navigational system offering information under any weather condition from any area that falls within its range, from anywhere in and near the earth.  This project was developed in the year 1973 to break the restrictions and challenges the previous systems faced. It was initially run with the help of twenty-four satellites and became completely operational in the year 1994. The system has been modernized and developed since then.
GPS’s design is primarily based on land-based navigation systems like Decca Navigator and LORAN, developed during the Second World War period. In 1960, the first successful navigator, named Transit, was experimented on by the United Nations’ navy. It was able to provide a navigation fix of roughly once an hour and was comprised of five satellites.
The Timation satellite in 1967 was the first to implement clocks in space. After tweaking and learning from its predecessors, the Omega Navigation System became the first official global radio navigation system, during the next decade.

The Global Positioning System is owned by the Government of the United States and stewarded by the Department of Defense. Successful mobile GPS tests were done in 2004 and a modernized satellite navigation system was launched in the year 2005. It has become a handy tool for people around the world.