What is a satellite constellation?
A satellite constellation is a fleet of satellites working together as a single system. GPS needs 24+ satellites so that four are always above your horizon; Starlink operates over 10,000 to blanket the planet in broadband. Constellations — not single satellites — are why the number of objects in orbit has tripled since 2019.
Navigation constellations
GPS (USA, 31 active), Galileo (Europe, ~30), GLONASS (Russia, ~24) and BeiDou (China, ~45) all work the same way: each satellite broadcasts an ultra-precise timestamp, and your phone computes its position from the tiny delays between four or more signals. The atomic clocks aboard are accurate to nanoseconds — and even need Einstein's relativity corrections to work.
Internet mega-constellations
Starlink flies at ~550 km so signals take ~25 ms instead of the ~600 ms of traditional GEO satellite internet. Each Falcon 9 adds 20–60 satellites, which briefly form the famous 'Starlink train' — a line of lights crossing the night sky in the days after each launch.
See every constellation live, colour-coded, on Cosmik's satellite map — filter Starlink, GPS, OneWeb and more with one tap.