Precise Galileo orbit determination using combined GNSS and SLR observations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Bury ◽  
Krzysztof Sośnica ◽  
Radosław Zajdel ◽  
Dariusz Strugarek
Keyword(s):  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Laser Ranging ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
International Gnss Service ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
Gnss Data ◽  
The Impact

<p>The European navigation system Galileo is on its final stretch to become a fully operational capability (FOC) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The current constellation consists of 24 healthy satellites decomposed into three Medium Earth Orbits and since late 2016 is considered as an operational system. So far, the official Galileo orbits are provided by the European Space Agency and in the frame of the International GNSS Service (IGS) Multi-GNSS pilot project (MGEX) whose one of the goals is to develop orbit determination strategies for all new emerging navigation satellite systems.</p><p>All the Galileo satellites are equipped with Laser Retroreflector Arrays (LRA) for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). As a result, a number of Galileo satellites is tracked by laser stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). SLR measurements to GNSS, such as Galileo, comprise a valuable tool for the validation of the orbit products as well as for an independent orbit solution based solely on laser ranging data. However, the SLR data may be used together along with the GNSS observations for the determination of the combined GNSS orbit using the two independent space techniques co-located onboard the Galileo satellites. The Galileo orbit determination strategies, as well as the usage of laser ranging to the navigation satellites, is crucial, especially in the light of the discussion concerning possible usability of the Galileo observation in the future realizations of the International Terrestrial Reference Frames.    </p><p>In this study, we present results from the precise Galileo orbit determination using the combined GNSS data transmitted by the Galileo satellites and the range measurements performed by the ILRS stations. We test different weighting strategies for GNSS and SLR observations. We test the formal errors of the Keplerian elements which significantly decrease when we apply the same weights for SLR  and GNSS data. However, in such a manner, we deteriorate the internal consistency of the solution, i.e., the orbit misclosures.  </p><p>For the solution with optimal weighting strategy, we present results of the quality of Galileo orbit predictions based on the combined solutions, as well as the SLR residuals. The combined GNSS+SLR solution seems to be especially favorable for the Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites, for which the standard deviation (STD) of the SLR residuals decreases by 13% as compared to the microwave solutions, whereas for the Galileo-FOC satellite the improvement of the STD of SLR residuals is at the level of 9%. Finally, we test the impact of adding SLR observations to the LAGEOS satellites which stabilizes the GNSS solutions, especially in terms of the realization of terrestrial reference frame origin. </p>

scholarly journals Determination of precise Galileo orbits using combined GNSS and SLR observations

GPS Solutions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Bury ◽  
Krzysztof Sośnica ◽  
Radosław Zajdel ◽  
Dariusz Strugarek ◽  
Urs Hugentobler
Keyword(s):  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Semimajor Axis ◽  
Precise Orbit Determination ◽  
Orbital Plane ◽  
Normal Equation ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
Formal Error ◽  
Combined Solution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Galileo satellites are equipped with laser retroreflector arrays for satellite laser ranging (SLR). In this study, we develop a methodology for the GNSS-SLR combination at the normal equation level with three different weighting strategies and evaluate the impact of laser observations on the determined Galileo orbits. We provide the optimum weighting scheme for precise orbit determination employing the co-location onboard Galileo. The combined GNSS-SLR solution diminishes the semimajor axis formal error by up to 62%, as well as reduces the dependency between values of formal errors and the elevation of the Sun above the orbital plane—the β angle. In the combined solution, the standard deviation of the SLR residuals decreases from 36.1 to 29.6 mm for Galileo-IOV satellites and |β|> 60°, when compared to GNSS-only solutions. Moreover, the bias of the Length-of-Day parameter is 20% lower for the combined solution when compared to the microwave one. As a result, the combination of GNSS and SLR observations provides promising results for future co-locations onboard the Galileo satellites for the orbit determination, realization of the terrestrial reference frames, and deriving geodetic parameters.

Institutional Aspects of a Global Navigation Satellite System

2000 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Brocklebank ◽  
J. Spiller ◽  
T. Tapsell
Keyword(s):  
European Space Agency ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
European Symposium ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Navigation ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
The Impact

This, and the following three papers, where first presented at GNSS 99, the Second European Symposium on Global Navigation Satellite Systems held in Genoa, Italy from 5th to 8th October 1999.Galileo is being developed as the European contribution to the next generation of navigation satellites to replace GNSS1. Sponsored by the European Union, Galileo will be a civil, internationally controlled and operated system that will secure the long-term availability of satellite-based navigation services for multi-modal purposes throughout the European region and beyond. Galileo will be designed to support a wide variety of applications. These include professional navigation, position reference, safety, emergency, tracking, sport/leisure and governmental. Such services may be open to all, for safety-of-life applications, or for commercial users. In the case of safety and commercial applications in particular, it is imperative that the appropriate institutional control and regulatory framework is in place for purposes of safety and economic regulation. To ensure that the various parties understand their obligations and liabilities, clear legal instruments must be put in place to support the organisational framework. It is planned to attract private investment to fund elements of system development and operation through Private/Public Partnership arrangements. At present there is no institutional, regulatory or legal framework that will enable the early impetus to Galileo development to be maintained. This presents a challenge that Europe must address without delay. It has been the subject of several European Commission studies in the past twelve months. In a complementary activity under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA), a European industry consortium comprising Alcatel, Alenia, DASA and Matra Marconi Space was tasked to complete the preliminary design of the space and ground segments by the Autumn of 1999. One task of this study, led by Matra Marconi Space, relates to a study of the impact of institutional, regulatory and legal issues on the organisation and development of Galileo. This paper describes the studies undertaken into these issues within the overall Galileo development programme.

On the impact of local ties on the datum realization of global terrestrial reference frames

2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 655-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Glaser ◽  
Rolf König ◽  
Karl Hans Neumayer ◽  
Tobias Nilsson ◽  
Robert Heinkelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frames ◽  
Local Ties ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
The Impact

Assessing the role of corrections included in the GRACE/GRACE-FO data in determination of hydrological and cryospheric signal in polar motion excitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Polar Motion ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
Geophysical Processes ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
Hydrological Angular Momentum ◽  
The Impact

<p>Assessing the impact of continental hydrosphere and cryosphere on polar motion (PM) variations is one of the crucial tasks in contemporary geodesy. The pole coordinates, as one of the Earth Orientation Parameters, are needed to define the relationship between the celestial and terrestrial reference frames. Therefore, the variations in PM should be monitored and interpreted in order to assess the role of geophysical processes in this phenomenon.</p><p>The role of hydrological and cryospheric signals in PM is usually examined by computing hydrological excitation (hydrological angular momentum, HAM) and cryospheric excitation (cryospheric angular momentum, CAM) of  PM, commonly treated together as HAM/CAM.</p><p>The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) missions deliver temporal variations of the gravity field resulting from changes in global mass redistribution. The so-called GRACE/GRACE-FO Level-3 (L3) data delivers changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) that can be used for computation of HAM/CAM.</p><p>For best possible representation of TWS, a number of corrections are introduced in the L3 data by computing centres. Such corrections are, among others, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) correction, geocenter correction and C<sub>20</sub> coefficient correction.</p><p>The main goal of this study is to examine the impact of corrections included in GRACE/GRACE-FO data on HAM/CAM determined. More specifically, we test their influence on HAM/CAM trends, seasonal changes and non-seasonal variations. We also examine the change in compliance between HAM/CAM and hydrological plus cryospheric signal in geodetically observed excitation when the corrections are used. To achieve our goals, we use GRACE and GRACE-FO L3 datasets provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Center for Space Research (CSR), and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).</p>

scholarly journals Evaluation of Inter-System Bias between BDS-2 and BDS-3 Satellites and Its Impact on Precise Point Positioning

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Zhao ◽  
Hua Chen ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Weiping Jiang ◽  
Xuexi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Precise Point Positioning ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
International Gnss Service ◽  
Beidou Navigation Satellite System ◽  
System Bias ◽  
Point Positioning ◽  
Kinematic Ppp ◽  
The Impact

The BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) currently has 41 satellites in orbits and will reach its full constellation following the launch of the last BDS satellite in June 2020 to provide navigation, positioning, and timing (PNT) services for global users. In this contribution, we investigate the characteristics of inter-system bias (ISB) between BDS-2 and BDS-3 and verify whether an additional ISB parameter should be introduced for the BDS-2 and BDS-3 precise point positioning (PPP). The results reveal that because of different clock references applied for BDS-2 and BDS-3 in the International GNSS Service (IGS) precise satellites clock products and the inconsistent code hardware delays of BDS-2 and BDS-3 for some receiver types, an ISB parameter needs to be introduced for BDS-2 and BDS-3 PPP. Further, the results show that the ISB can be regarded as a constant within a day, the value of which is closely related to the receiver type. The ISB values of the stations with the same receiver type are similar to each other, but a great difference may be presented for different receiver types, up to several meters. In addition, the impact of ISB on PPP has also been studied, which demonstrates that the performance of kinematic PPP could be improved when ISB is introduced.

scholarly journals GLONASS precise orbit determination with identification of malfunctioning spacecraft

GPS Solutions ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Bury ◽  
Krzysztof Sośnica ◽  
Radosław Zajdel ◽  
Dariusz Strugarek
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Precise Orbit Determination ◽  
Systematic Errors ◽  
Satellite Laser Ranging ◽  
Laser Ranging ◽  
Precise Orbit ◽  
Similar Construction ◽  
Wing Model ◽  
The Impact

AbstractDue to the continued development of the GLONASS satellites, precise orbit determination (POD) still poses a series of challenges. This study examines the impact of introducing the analytical tube-wing model for GLONASS-M and the box-wing model for GLONASS-K in a series of hybrid POD strategies that consider both the analytical model and a series of empirical parameters. We assess the perturbing accelerations acting on GLONASS spacecraft based on the analytical model. All GLONASS satellites are equipped with laser retroreflectors for satellite laser ranging (SLR). We apply the SLR observations for the GLONASS POD in a series of GNSS + SLR combined solutions. The application of the box-wing model significantly improves GLONASS orbits, especially for GLONASS-K, reducing the STD of SLR residuals from 92.6 to 27.6 mm. Although the metadata for all GLONASS-M satellites reveal similar construction characteristics, we found differences in empirical accelerations and SLR offsets not only between GLONASS-M and GLONASS-M+ but also within the GLONASS-M+ series. Moreover, we identify satellites with inferior orbit solutions and check if we can improve them using the analytical model and SLR observations. For GLONASS-M SVN730, the STD of the SLR residuals for orbits determined using the empirical solution is 48.7 mm. The STD diminishes to 41.2 and 37.8 mm when introducing the tube-wing model and SLR observations, respectively. As a result, both the application of the SLR observations and the analytical model significantly improve the orbit solution as well as reduce systematic errors affecting orbits of GLONASS satellites.

On the prospects of a future GNSS constellation on the global terrestrial reference frame

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Glaser ◽  
Grzegorz Michalak ◽  
Rolf Koenig ◽  
Benjamin Maennel ◽  
Harald Schuh
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frames ◽  
Time Synchronization ◽  
Orbital Plane ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
Earth Rotation Parameters ◽  
The Impact

<p>Global terrestrial reference frames (TRFs), as one of the most important geodetic products, currently miss the imperative requirements of 1 mm accuracy and 1mm/decade long-term stability. In this study, the prospects of a future Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to improve global TRFs is assessed by simulations. The future constellation, named “Kepler”, is proposed by the German Aerospace Center DLR in view of the next generation Galileo system. In addition to a contemporary Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) segment with 24 satellites in three orbital planes, Kepler consists of six Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in two near polar planes, all carrying long-term stable optical clocks. The MEO satellites in one orbital plane and the LEO and MEO satellites in different planes are connected with optical two-way inter-satellite links (ISLs) as the innovative key feature. The ISLs allow very precise range measurements and time synchronization (at the picosecond-level) between the satellites. Different simulation scenarios are set up to evaluate the impact of the Kepler features on the TRF-defining parameters origin and scale as well as on the Earth rotation parameters (ERPs). The origin of a Kepler-only TRF improves considerably by factors of 8, 8, and 43 in X, Y, and Z direction, respectively, w.r.t. a Galileo-only solution. The scale realized by a Kepler-TRF shows improvements of 34% w.r.t. Galileo-only. In a combination with simulated observations of Very Long Baseline Interferometry the impact on multi-technique TRFs is assessed as well. The ERPs of both techniques are combined as global ties and benefits especially on the determination of UT1-UTC are expected.</p>

Combined Precise Orbit Determination for BDS-2 and BDS-3 Satellites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanbing Peng ◽  
Maorong Ge ◽  
Yuanxi Yang ◽  
Harald Schuh ◽  
Roman Galas
Keyword(s):  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Precise Orbit Determination ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Beidou Navigation Satellite System ◽  
Precise Orbit ◽  
Product Generation ◽  
Open Service ◽  
The Impact

<p>Since November 2017, the 3rd generation BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) of China has stepped into an intensive build-up phase. Up to the end of 2019, there are 5 experimental and 28 operational BDS-3 satellites in the space. Besides that, 16 BDS-2 legacy satellites are still providing Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) service for Asia-Pacific users. Unlike BDS-2 satellites, BDS-3 satellites will not transmit signal on frequency B2I which is one of the open service frequencies of BDS-2 and will be replaced by B2a of BDS-3. For legacy signals, only that on B1I and B3I will be transmitted by all BDS-3 satellites. Therefore, current routine scheme that generates precise orbit and clock products with B1I+B2I combination observations becomes infeasible for BDS-3. Observation combination used for product generation of BDS-2 could be switched to B1I+B3I combination as well. However, this might cause discontinuity in BDS-2 products as different hardware delays specific to signals are contained in them. In this study, combined processing of BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellites to generate consistent precise orbit and clock products is researched. To elaborate the impact of observation biases between BDS-2 and BDS-3, different combined Precise Orbit Determination (POD) processing schemes are examined. It shows that receiver biases between BDS-2 and BDS-3 should be considered in combined POD which is clear from the post-fit residuals of observations, especially from that of BDS-3 code observations. After estimating those biases between B1I+B2I of BDS-2 and B1I+B3I of BDS-3, Root-Mean-Square (RMS) of BDS-3 code observations decreases from 5.07 to 1.23 m. The results show that, biases of B1I+B3I between BDS-2 and BDS-3 are relatively small, less than 4 m for most receivers and around 1.2 m on average. But their estimates are stable with standard deviations (STDs) of 0.13 ~ 0.34 m depending on receiver types. Influences of these biases on the POD results are limited. However, biases between B1I+B2I of BDS-2 and B1I+B3I of BDS-3 are more significant, from -10 to 30 m for different receivers. Except for Septentrio receivers, quantities of those biases are basically related to the receiver types. Averages of biases from Trimble, JAVAD and Leica receivers are 18.5, 5.0 and 10.0 m, respectively. Those biases are also estimated with very small STDs, which ranges from 0.13 to 0.28 m. It is demonstrated that those receiver biases should be properly handle in combined POD processing of BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellites. As B1I+B2I is more appropriate for BDS-2, using different observation combinations for BDS-2 and BDS-3 in combined POD processing is more preferred over the scheme in which B1I+B3I is used for both BDS-2 and BDS-3.</p>

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