Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Let me just point out that satellites don't necessarily orbit around the world. They can be geostationary, and in fact they usually are I think. That is why you will find most US GPS satellites over the US, most Russian satellites over Russia, etc.

Also, signal disruption is already very common as a necessary precaution at sensitive times and places. I think many military bases and other sensitive places, like the Kremlin, have signal interference so they are very imprecise to target with GPS-guided weapons.



GPS satellites are not on geostationary orbits[1]. And if you are using "GPS" as a common name, I still doubt you'll find any.

Geostationary orbits are very far away, what leads to horrible timing properties, and all in a single plane. They are almost useless for positioning.

1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System#Spac...


GNSS satellites (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, etc) are not in geostationary orbits. Being in a geostationary orbit would put them in fixed "locations" in the sky, making them easily blocked by terrain and entirely unusable at high latitudes.

GPS satellites are in MEO, at ~20 km MSL. Other GNSS satellites use similar orbits.


(Just noticed a minor error: GNSS orbits are roughly 20k km, not 20 km!)


GPS wouldn't really work in a geostationary orbit (there'd be no way to tell if your latitude is North or South)




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: