Radiation-hardened fast acquisition/weak signal tracking system and method

A global positioning system (GPS) receiver and method of acquiring and tracking GPS signals comprises an antenna adapted to receive GPS signals; an analog radio frequency device operatively connected to the antenna and adapted to convert the GPS signals from an analog format to a digital format; a plurality of GPS signal tracking correlators operatively connected to the analog RF device; a GPS signal acquisition component operatively connected to the analog RF device and the plurality of GPS signal tracking correlators, wherein the GPS signal acquisition component is adapted to calculate a maximum vector on a databit correlation grid; and a microprocessor operatively connected to the plurality of GPS signal tracking correlators and the GPS signal acquisition component, wherein the microprocessor is adapted to compare the maximum vector with a predetermined correlation threshold to allow the GPS signal to be fully acquired and tracked.