Navigators

A navigator determines a vehicle's position and course and plans the route to a destination. They work on ships, aircraft, submarines, spacecraft, and other transport modes, supporting the captain, pilot, or mission commander by estimating location, plotting waypoints, calculating speed and fuel, and monitoring progress.

Historically, maritime navigation relied on celestial observations, dead reckoning, and chart plotting. Sailors used the sun, stars, and horizon, aided by instruments such as the sextant and chronometer, to determine position and longitude. Advances in timekeeping and charts improved accuracy during the early modern era.

Today navigators use a mix of methods and devices. Celestial navigation remains a theoretical basis; dead reckoning provides redundancy; radio navigation and radar support fixes; and satellite systems such as GPS supply continuous position data. Modern vessels and aircraft also use inertial navigation, digital charts, and integrated navigation computers.

Training covers mathematics, meteorology, chart reading, timekeeping, and risk management. Navigators typically receive formal certification and undertake watchkeeping duties to maintain situational awareness and respond to deviations.

Although automation has reduced the need for manual fixes in many settings, navigators remain essential for long voyages, exploratory missions, and contexts where redundancy and human judgment are critical. In spaceflight, navigation involves calculating orbital maneuvers and using tracking data to guide trajectories.