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A view of the Earth as seen from above the continent of Africa |
The Earths rotational axis intersects its surface at the North and South poles |
The Equator is perpendicular to the rotational axis and equidistant from the poles |
The Inclination angle for each GNSS constellation is measured from the Equator |
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Satellites circle the Earth in one of six orbital planes |
Each orbital plane is indexed with an Inclination angle of 55° |
Constellation geometry cross section displaying orbital plane intersections |
Satellites do not pass over the area inside the remaining 35° of latitude |
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GPS satellite orbit paths | GPS inclination angle orbit limits | ||
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Satellites circle the Earth in one of three orbital planes |
Each orbital plane is indexed with an Inclination angle of 64.8° |
Constellation geometry cross section displaying orbital plane intersections |
Satellites do not pass over the area inside the remaining 25.2° of latitude |
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GLONASS satellite orbit paths | GLONASS inclination angle orbit limits | ||
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Satellites circle the Earth in one of three orbital planes |
Each
orbital plane is indexed with an Inclination angle of 56° |
Constellation geometry cross section displaying orbital plane intersections |
Satellites
do not pass over the area inside the remaining 34° of latitude |
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Galileo satellite orbit paths | Galileo inclination angle orbit limits | ||
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GPS vs GLONASS | Inclination angle orbit limits | Satellite orbit paths |
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GPS vs Galileo | Inclination angle orbit limits | Satellite orbit paths |
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Galileo vs GLONASS | Inclination angle orbit limits | Satellite orbit paths |
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The receiver is located somewhere along the intersection of two signals. |
Adding a third signal further isolates the solution to one of two possibilites. |
The true location is revealed only after a fourth signal is applied to the calculation. |