| By :
Adrianna Noton
One of the unexpected side benefits of the decades long space race between the United States of America and Russia is the plethora of satellites which orbit our earth on a daily basis, and the modern day usages that the world can find for the technology which travels in near and distant orbits around our planet. From NASA's first steps into the bounds of deep space and from Russia's blinking, beeping Sputnik which first came through on a crackling radio signal, we have numerous technological leaps, including GPS tracking. The side effect of launching satellites into near orbit had a profound effect on numerous things, but it is the ability to use those satellites to locate and identify the position of any point on the planet which is perhaps the most useful. Global positioning systems, or GPS for short, have many practical applications in many people's lives. Global positioning systems work by triangulating any given position on the face of the rotating earth with two of the thousands of satellites that are rotating around the world, allowing precise location tracking to be created with smart mathematics and the use of angles. Previously people were only able to make a rough estimate as to the location of any given place, object or person on the earth. GPS systems allow precise, pin point locationing to a fraction of an inch. Global positioning systems have a practical common use in those looking for lost ships, navigation, hikers and climbers, and on a more pragmatic level, in satellite navigation in car systems. When people travel along highways in their cars, the technology which guides them to their destination uses global positioning systems technology to locate where they are in relation to their ultimate end point. The common usage of this technology was adapted from the first people to take up global positioning system technology. Armies, navies and air forces were amongst the first to use the GPS systems, recognizing that they have many advantages over more primitive location devices such as radar. It is global locational and positioning systems which allow our armies to be in constant communication with home bases even when in the middle of the desert in the Gulf region, and ensure that so many troops can operate safely on the front lines. GPS systems are also used to help navigate remote controlled bombing raids by the military. Cell phones also use geolocational technology to accurately place people when they use their phones. Police forces and investigations have found this use particularly useful in retracing the last known steps of missing people, and many have been able to reunite lost people with their families as a result of knowing where they last were. GPS tracking systems are one of the rare instances where comparatively useless technology has been recycled to have a better, more enviable second use. The thousands of satellites which orbit our earth and were long considered outer space garbage, waiting to burn up while clogging up our near orbits, have been retooled to be an integral part of our modern world which we could not do without.
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