GNSS (global navigation satellite system)
GNSS is the umbrella term for the satellite constellations that provide positioning, navigation and timing — GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou.
A receiver measures the travel time of signals from several satellites at once to compute its own latitude, longitude and altitude.
Most GNSS satellites fly in medium Earth orbit near 20,000 km, and modern receivers combine several systems for better accuracy.
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Related terms
- MEO — Medium Earth orbit (MEO) is the band from about 2,000 km up to the geostationary altitude of 35,786 km, best known as the home of navigation satellites.
- Satellite constellation — A satellite constellation is a group of satellites working together as one system to give continuous or global coverage that a single satellite cannot.
