Starlink also has an advantage with its altitude, orbiting at roughly 750 miles (1,200 km), much closer to Earth than GPS in medium-Earth orbit. Since GPS has been around for a generation (more than 30 years) and has a well-known signal, it is easy to use on smartphones or vehicles - but also more 'vulnerable to attacks', the team stated. The researchers suggested this method of using Starlink navigation could supplement traditional GPS navigation, the latter of which has vulnerabilities. (Recent launches have been delayed due to a liquid oxygen shortage induced by higher medical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.) SpaceX has about 1,700 working satellites today, the team stated, but the company hopes to launch more than 40,000 into orbit. Kassas noted that Starlink's accuracy, using this methodology, will increase as more satellites in the fleet fly to orbit. Stunning photos of Falcon Heavy's 1st night launch The evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures Air Force, to pinpoint locations of high-altitude aircraft, produced an accuracy of 16.5 feet (5 meters). Other low Earth orbit satellite constellations zeroed in on locations to within about 75 feet (23 meters). The algorithm and Starlink working together are comparably accurate compared to past projects the team has worked on, Kassas said. Their experiment placed the estimated position of the antenna, using Starlink signals, within 25 feet (7.7 m) of its actual position. Next, they placed an antenna on the University of California, Irvine campus in an attempt to find its location using Starlink. Rather, they used the signals from several satellites and developed an algorithm to locate a position on Earth. The researchers developed their navigation system with no help from SpaceX, nor any access to data being shared over the broadband connection. 'Even though Starlink wasn't designed for navigation purposes, we showed that it was possible to learn parts of the system well enough to use it for navigation,' Kassas said.

Gps pinpoint locations on earth by