GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and it uses satellites in space to help you find your way! When your family uses a map app on a phone to get directions, that app is talking to satellites way up in space. GPS is one of the coolest ways that space helps us every day.
There are about 30 GPS satellites orbiting Earth right now. Your phone or GPS device picks up signals from several of these satellites at the same time. By figuring out how far away each satellite is, the device can calculate exactly where you are on Earth! It works anywhere in the world, day or night.
- GPS can tell you where you are within a few feet.
- GPS helps airplanes, ships, and cars find their way.
- The GPS satellites are about 12,550 miles above Earth and travel at about 8,700 miles per hour!
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