Chapter 3: GNSS constellations

“The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program.”

–Larry Niven, American science fiction author.

Larry Niven is suggesting that if the dinosaurs had had a space program, they could have intercepted and deflected the asteroid that may have led to their extinction.

Unlike the dinosaurs, several countries now have existing or planned space programs that include the implementation of national or regional GNSS. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of these systems.

Sections

• GPS (Global Positioning System), United States
• GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Russia
• BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (China)
• Galileo (European Union)
• NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), India
• QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), Japan
• GNSS signal summary

Chapter 3: GNSS constellations