Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

A satellite-based system that provides positioning, navigation and timing information to compatible receivers.

GNSS is the collective term for constellations including the United States GPS, Europe’s Galileo, Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou, together with augmentation systems and regional services. A receiver measures signals from multiple satellites to calculate position and time.

Accuracy and integrity depend on satellite geometry, receiver and antenna quality, corrections, interference, obstruction and the datum used. A displayed latitude and longitude must be checked against chart datum, sensor status and other available navigational information.