- The GPS III satellite armada will eventually make our GPS technology more accurate, but we’re not there yet.
- So far, only three satellites have been launched, and only one of them is operational at the moment.
- Elon Musk recently tweeted that our ‘GPS just got a little better’, but that’s not entirely true.
We tend to take GPS for granted these days. It works pretty well already and it seems to have always been there, even though it’s a relatively new technology, considering everything. It’s not perfect, of course, and we can see evidence of that in our map apps and games like Pokemon Go that sometimes send us flying across the map while trying to focus on our position.
But like any technology, it is improving, and the launch of a new GPS III satellite is a small step toward a more accurate Global Positioning System for the future. Obviously, Elon Musk is very proud to have played a part in this and tweeted a not entirely accurate boast that his GPS has just improved.
SpaceX recently launched a new GPS III satellite that had originally been delayed since April. The launch took place this week from Cape Canaveral in Florida and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered the satellite into orbit around Earth.
Musk’s bragging, which included a tweet from SpaceX with a video showing the deployment of the GPS III satellite, the third of its kind now in Earth orbit, was a bit cheeky, as its GPS doesn’t instantly improve just because the spacecraft SpaceX exploded The satellite into space. Still, it is not wrong in the sense that GPS III should be a significant improvement over most existing GPS technology regarding accuracy.
How Reverse Reports, current GPS technology can reduce a location to about 28 inches relatively accurate. That’s pretty incredible on its own, but the GPS III will further narrow that range, offering nine-inch precision. That’s about three times more accurate than current GPS technology, but we won’t notice those improvements once.
Many more GPS III satellites are still awaiting their chance to fly into the sky, only one of the three orbiting GPS III satellites are operational, and manufacturer Lockheed Martin is in the midst of building another 10. Launches are expected to continue regularly. base until mid-2023.
The satellites will have a lifespan of around 15 years, according to the company, at which time we could have even better technology to identify locations more precisely. For now, however, we have to wait for the satellites to be fully operational before we can begin to notice a difference in the accuracy of our GPS if we ever notice.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, handheld devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot, and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and in print. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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