BLUF
The US-run GPS system is being upgraded and should deliver a much stronger signal to end-users.Summary
GPS tells us where we are and helps us get to where we are going. Still, a core aspect of the technology is providing correct timing for a multitude of applications ranging from your phone to a power station. This puts a lot of pressure on approximately thirty satellites—24 is the minimum to allow the whole system to work. GPS is run by the US military through the Space Force GPS program and in 2020 had a $1.71 billion budget. It is the premier service among just a handful of global navigation satellite systems, or GNSS, which include the European Union's Galileo, Russia's Glonass and China's BeiDou. The US is updating to GPS III, which should result in signals being three times stronger and the whole system possessing a much more effective anti-jamming capability. In the years ahead there will be more Space Force launches carrying GPS III satellites. Worth considering how reliant Australians are on GPS.
