GPS Test Successful From Outer Space

An anonymous reader writes: "AMSAT reports that the GPS experiment on the international amateur radio spacecraft AO-40 has undergone successful testing." A note on the site reads in part: "This experiment supplied and sponsored by NASA, is to determine if it is possible to get positional data outside of the GPS ring of satellites. There are two GPS receivers on AO-40, the A receiver for receiving signals around apogee and the B receiver for signal reception around perigee. ... A signal on the apogee receiver from about 52 Thousand Kilometres out with good signal levels has been received, further data is being gathered and those downloaded so far are being analysed. If this experiment goes the way I expect, it will revolutionise the way we use GPS in Space. Many future HEO spacecraft will be able to take advantage of GPS for autonomous navigation and stationkeeping." This is one of the most interesting applications of GPS technology I've heard about -- nice way to reuse what was intended as a terrestrial navigation aid.

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Re:THE MOD SYSTEM

[grammar nazi]

Ouch. You must be very new to Slashdot. If people pointed out every mis-moderation and posted, then we would have thousands of posts for each story.

People usually just moderate me down because I'm the grammar nazi. I deal with it. You should deal with it too.