Coincidentally, in recent years SpaceX has launched several GPS satellites for the U.S. Space Force.
, which are used in the United States and several other countries. The study represents the first time Starlink was used for navigation by researchers outside of SpaceX, the team members stated.
Researchers triangulated the signals from six Starlink satellites to fix upon a location on Earth with less than 27 feet of accuracy, the team. That's pretty comparable to the typical GPS capabilities of a smartphone, which typically pinpoints your spot on Earth to within 16 feet , depending on the conditions.
"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., nor any access to data being shared over the broadband connection. Rather, they used the signals from several satellites and developed an algorithm to locate a position on Earth.
Next, they placed an antenna on the University of California, Irvine campus in an attempt to find its location using Starlink. Their experiment placed the estimated position of the antenna, using Starlink signals, within 25 feet of its actual position. The algorithm and Starlink working together are comparably accurate compared to past projects the team has worked on, Kassas said. Other low Earth orbit satellite constellations zeroed in on locations to within about 75 feet . An unrelated project with the U.S. Air Force, to pinpoint locations of high-altitude aircraft, produced an accuracy of 16.5 feet .