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The Control Segment in GPS has a vital role to play. This is made up of a system of controlling and tracking stations situated throughout the world. There is a master control station that is set up in Colorado at Falcon Air Base in Colorado Springs; this station is accountable and responsible for the whole operation and management of the distant monitoring and transmission sites.
Six monitor stations are situated at Cape Canaveral, Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado, , Hawaii, Florida, Diego Garcia Atoll in the Indian Ocean, Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, and Kwajalein Island in the South Pacific Ocean. Each monitor stations testify the right altitude, position, speed, and the whole health of the revolving satellites.
GPS's control segment employs measurements gathered by the monitor stations satellites to portend the nature or behavior of each satellite's movement or rotation and clock. Then, the prediction data is transmitted or up-linked to the satellites for transmission back to the user community. The control segment also makes sure that the GPS satellite orbits and clock keeps within acceptable limits.
A station is able to track up to 11 satellites at one time. This "examination" is done twice in a day, through each station, as the satellites make their journey complete around the earth. Known variations, like those brought about by the gravity of the moon, sun and the pressure of solar radiation, are passed along to the master control station. And the satellites from horizon is monitored and tracked by the Ground Antennas. The correction information is also transmitted or sent out by the Ground Antennas to individual satellites.
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