The Global Positioning System and other global navigation satellite systems operate primarily within Medium Earth Orbit. These navigational spacecraft typically circle the Earth at an altitude of approximately 20,200 kilometers in semi-synchronous orbits, completing two full circuits around the planet every 24 hours. This specific altitude provides an optimal balance, offering broad, continuous geographic coverage across the entire surface of the Earth while ensuring that receivers can reliably detect multiple visible satellites simultaneously to calculate precise three-dimensional positions.