Three distinct parts make up the Global Positioning System. The first segment of the system consists of 24 satellites, orbiting 20,000 km above the Earth in 12 hour circular orbits. This means that it takes each satellite 12 hours to make a complete circle around the Earth. In order to make sure that they can be detected from anywhere on the Earths surface, the satellites are divided into six groups of four. Each group is assigned a different path to follow. This creates six orbital planes which completely surround the Earth.