Millimeter-accuracy SLR bias determination using independent multi-LEO DORIS and GNSS-based orbits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Arnold ◽  
Alexandre Couhert ◽  
Eléonore Saquet ◽  
Heike Peter ◽  
Flavien Mercier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Laser Ranging ◽  
Bias Estimation ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Orbit Errors

<p>Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), i.e., the optical distance measurement to satellites equipped with laser retro-reflectors, has become an invaluable core technique in numerous geodetic applications. For instance, SLR measurements to spherical geodetic satellites, such as LAGEOS-1/2 or Etalon-1/2, form an essential contribution for the determination of geocenter coordinates and global scale in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) realizations.</p><p>SLR measurements to active satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are, on the other hand, up to now mostly used for an independent validation of orbit solutions, usually derived by microwave tracking techniques based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) or <span>Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS). This allows for the analysis of systematic orbit errors (e.g., originating from poorly known satellite center of mass locations or sensor offsets) not only in radial direction, but in t</span><span>h</span><span>ree dimensions. A high level of radial orbit reliability is, e.g., key to satellite altimetry applications.</span></p><p><span>For many of these geodetic SLR applications a mm accuracy and 0.1 mm/year stability is required or at least desired. Unavoidable SLR station biases are a major error source and obstacle to reach the aforementioned accuracy and stability goals. Among the stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) there is a large diversity of biases and measurement qualities, and the calibration of these biases for all stations is key to further exploit SLR data for present and future geodetic applications.</span></p><p><span>In this presentation we demonstrate that the analysis of SLR data to active LEO satellites equipped with GNSS or DORIS receivers is a promising means to analyze SLR biases and their stability. </span><span>Using three independent selections of Earth observation missions in LEOs with three different SLR analysis software packages (Bernese GNSS Software, Zoom, Napeos), we estimate SLR range biases for all involved tracking stations on a yearly basis. We find that for many of the stations the three independently estimated sets of biases agree on a few-mm level</span><span> and that the inclusion of satellites from multiple missions allows to render the bias estimation more robust and in particular less prone to geographically correlated orbit errors. This shows that microwave-derived orbits of active LEO satellites, nowadays of very high quality due to numerous advances in modeling and an</span><span>alysis</span><span> techniques, can serve as interesting source</span><span>s</span><span> for SLR station calibration in </span><span>demanding</span><span> geodetic applications like, e.g., future ITRF realizations.</span></p>

scholarly journals GNSS RTK Positioning Augmented with Large LEO Constellation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingxing Li ◽  
Hongbo Lv ◽  
Fujian Ma ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Jinghui Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Convergence Time ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Long Baselines

It is widely known that in real-time kinematic (RTK) solution, the convergence and ambiguity-fixed speeds are critical requirements to achieve centimeter-level positioning, especially in medium-to-long baselines. Recently, the current status of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) can be improved by employing low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. In this study, an initial assessment is applied for LEO constellations augmented GNSS RTK positioning, where four designed LEO constellations with different satellite numbers, as well as the nominal GPS constellation, are simulated and adopted for analysis. In terms of aforementioned constellations solutions, the statistical results of a 68.7-km baseline show that when introducing 60, 96, 192, and 288 polar-orbiting LEO constellations, the RTK convergence time can be shortened from 4.94 to 2.73, 1.47, 0.92, and 0.73 min, respectively. In addition, the average time to first fix (TTFF) can be decreased from 7.28 to 3.33, 2.38, 1.22, and 0.87 min, respectively. Meanwhile, further improvements could be satisfied in several elements such as corresponding fixing ratio, number of visible satellites, position dilution of precision (PDOP) and baseline solution precision. Furthermore, the performance of the combined GPS/LEO RTK is evaluated over various-length baselines, based on convergence time and TTFF. The research findings show that the medium-to-long baseline schemes confirm that LEO satellites do helpfully obtain faster convergence and fixing, especially in the case of long baselines, using large LEO constellations, subsequently, the average TTFF for long baselines has a substantial shortened about 90%, in other words from 12 to 2 min approximately by combining with the larger LEO constellation of 192 or 288 satellites. It is interesting to denote that similar improvements can be observed from the convergence time.

scholarly journals Reference system origin and scale realization within the future GNSS constellation “Kepler”

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Glaser ◽  
Grzegorz Michalak ◽  
Benjamin Männel ◽  
Rolf König ◽  
Karl Hans Neumayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Synchronization ◽  
Solar Radiation Pressure ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Present System ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
The Future ◽  
German Aerospace

AbstractCurrently, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) do not contribute to the realization of origin and scale of combined global terrestrial reference frame (TRF) solutions due to present system design limitations. The future Galileo-like medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation, called “Kepler”, proposed by the German Aerospace Center DLR, is characterized by a low Earth orbit (LEO) segment and the innovative key features of optical inter-satellite links (ISL) delivering highly precise range measurements and of optical frequency references enabling a perfect time synchronization within the complete constellation. In this study, the potential improvements of the Kepler constellation on the TRF origin and scale are assessed by simulations. The fully developed Kepler system allows significant improvements of the geocenter estimates (realized TRF origin in long-term). In particular, we find improvements by factors of 43 for the Z and of 8 for the X and Y component w. r. t. a contemporary MEO-only constellation. Furthermore, the Kepler constellation increases the reliability due to a complete de-correlation of the geocenter coordinates and the orbit parameters related to the solar radiation pressure modeling (SRP). However, biases in SRP modeling cause biased geocenter estimates and the ISL of Kepler can only partly compensate this effect. The realized scale enabling all Kepler features improves by 34% w. r. t. MEO-only. The dependency of the estimated satellite antenna phase center offsets (PCOs) upon the underlying TRF impedes a scale realization by GNSS. In order to realize the network scale with 1 mm accuracy, the PCOs have to be known within 2 cm for the MEO and 4 mm for the LEO satellites. Independently, the scale can be realized by estimating the MEO PCOs and by simultaneously fixing the LEO PCOs. This requires very accurate LEO PCOs; the simulations suggest them to be smaller than 1 mm in order to keep scale changes below 1 mm.

scholarly journals Improved PPP Ambiguity Resolution with the Assistance of Multiple LEO Constellations and Signals

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Li ◽  
Xingxing Li ◽  
Fujian Ma ◽  
Yongqiang Yuan ◽  
Keke Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Triple Frequency ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Fixed Solution ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The fusion of low earth orbit (LEO) constellation and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) can increase the number of visible satellites and optimize spatial geometry, which is expected to improve the performance of precise point positioning (PPP) ambiguity resolution (AR). In addition, the multi-frequency signals of LEO satellites can bring a variety of observation combinations, which is potential to further improve the efficiency of PPP AR. In this contribution, multi-frequency PPP AR was achieved with the augmentation of different LEO constellations. Three types of LEO constellations were designed with 60, 192, and 288 satellites. Moreover, the corresponding observation data were simulated with the GNSS observations over the ground stations. The LEO constellations were designed to transmit navigation signals on three frequencies: L1, L2, and L5 at 1575.42, 1227.6, and 1176.45 MHz, respectively, which are consistent with the GPS signals. For PPP AR, the uncalibrated phase delay (UPD) products of GNSS and LEO were estimated first. Furthermore, the quality of UPD products was also analyzed. The research findings show that the performance of estimated LEO UPD is comparable to that of GNSS UPD. Based on the UPD products, LEO-augmented multi-GNSS PPP AR can be achieved. Numerous results show that the performance of single-system and multi-GNSS PPP AR can be significantly improved by introducing the LEO constellations. The augmentation performance is more remarkable in the case of increasing LEO satellites. The time to first fix (TTFF) of the GREC fixed solution can be shortened from 7.1 to 4.8, 1.1, and 0.7 min, by introducing observations of 60-, 192-, and 288-LEO constellations, respectively. The positioning accuracy of multi-GNSS fixed solutions is also improved by about 60%, 80%, and 90% with the augmentation of 60-, 192-, and 288-LEO constellations, respectively. Compared to the dual-frequency solutions, the triple-frequency LEO-augmented PPP fixed solution presents a better performance. The TTFF of GREC fixed solutions is shortened to 33 s with the augmentation of 288-LEO constellation under the triple-frequency environment. It is worth indicating that the 288-satellite LEO-only PPP AR was conducted in dual-frequency and triple-frequency modes, respectively. The averaged TTFFs of both modes are 71.8 s and 55.2 s, respectively. It indicates that LEO constellation with 288 satellites is capable of achieving high-precision positioning independently and shows an even better performance than GNSS-only solutions.

Position and velocity estimation with a low Earth orbit regional navigation satellite constellation

2021 ◽  
pp. 095441002110313
Author(s):  
Tomer Shtark ◽  
Pini Gurfil
Keyword(s):  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Velocity Estimation ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Dynamical Model ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Satellite Constellation ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

Position and velocity estimation using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) has been widely studied and implemented. In contrast to existing GNSS, the idea of using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for position and velocity determination is relatively new. On one hand, the launch to LEO is more affordable compared to GNSS orbits. On the other hand, LEO satellites provide reduced coverage and suffer from orbit determination uncertainties. In this article, we study position and velocity estimation for an aerial platform using signals from a LEO satellite constellation, designed to produce a relatively long coverage duration, while minimizing the geometric dilution of precision. We determine the receiver’s position by using the trilateration method and the velocity by using Doppler estimation, and improve the accuracy thereof by utilizing an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). We suggest a solution for the trilateration initialization problem, which arises for LEO navigation satellites, which relies on averaging the Earth projection of all the satellites within sight. We examine two scenarios, one wherein the EKF’s dynamical model matches the reference dynamical model, and another with a model mismatch. When the dynamical model is approximated, the EKF reduces the position and velocity errors considerably. When the dynamical model is known, the position and velocity errors can be reduced by an order of magnitude.

The Contribution of LARES to Global Climate Change Studies With Geodetic Satellites

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giampiero Sindoni ◽  
Claudio Paris ◽  
Cristian Vendittozzi ◽  
Erricos C. Pavlis ◽  
Ignazio Ciufolini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Geophysical Processes ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) makes an important contribution to Earth science providing the most accurate measurement of the long-wavelength components of Earth’s gravity field, including their temporal variations. Furthermore, SLR data along with those from the other three geometric space techniques, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and DORIS, generate and maintain the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) that is used as a reference by all Earth Observing systems and beyond. As a result we obtain accurate station positions and linear velocities, a manifestation of tectonic plate movements important in earthquake studies and in geophysics in general. The “geodetic” satellites used in SLR are passive spheres characterized by very high density, with little else than gravity perturbing their orbits. As a result they define a very stable reference frame, defining primarily and uniquely the origin of the ITRF, and in equal shares, its scale. The ITRF is indeed used as “the” standard to which we can compare regional, GNSS-derived and alternate frames. The melting of global icecaps, ocean and atmospheric circulation, sea-level change, hydrological and internal Earth-mass redistribution are nowadays monitored using satellites. The observations and products of these missions are geolocated and referenced using the ITRF. This allows scientists to splice together records from various missions sometimes several years apart, to generate useful records for monitoring geophysical processes over several decades. The exchange of angular momentum between the atmosphere and solid Earth for example is measured and can be exploited for monitoring global change. LARES, an Italian Space Agency (ASI) satellite, is the latest geodetic satellite placed in orbit. Its main contribution is in the area of geodesy and the definition of the ITRF in particular and this presentation will discuss the improvements it will make in the aforementioned areas.

Co-location of SLR and GNSS techniques onboard Galileo and GLONASS satellites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Bury ◽  
Krzysztof Sośnica ◽  
Radosław Zajdel ◽  
Dariusz Strugarek ◽  
Urs Hugentobler
Keyword(s):  
Orbital Plane ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Navigation Systems ◽  
Local Ties ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Space Ties ◽  
Gnss Observations

<p>All satellites of the Galileo and GLONASS navigation systems are equipped with laser retroreflector arrays for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). SLR observations to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide the co-location of two space geodetic techniques onboard navigation satellites.</p><p>SLR observations, which are typically used for the validation of the microwave-GNSS orbits, can now contribute to the determination of the combined SLR+GNSS orbits of the navigation satellites. SLR measurements are especially helpful for periods when the elevation of the Sun above the orbital plane (β angle) is the highest. The quality of Galileo-IOV orbits calculated using combined SLR+GNSS observations improves from 36 to 30 mm for β> 60° as compared to the microwave-only solution. </p><p>Co-location of two space techniques allows for the determination of the linkage between SLR and GNSS techniques in space. Based on the so-called space ties, it is possible to determine the 3D vector between the ground-based co-located SLR and GNSS stations and compare it with the local ties which are determined using the ground measurements. The agreement between local ties derived from co-location in space and ground measurements is at the level of 1 mm in terms of the long-term median values for the co-located station in Zimmerwald, Switzerland.</p><p>We also revise the approach for handling the SLR range biases which constitute one of the main error sources for the SLR measurements. The updated SLR range biases consider now the impact of not only of SLR-to-GNSS observations but also the SLR observations to LAGEOS and the microwave GNSS measurements. The updated SLR range biases improve the agreement between space ties and local ties from 34 mm to 23 mm for the co-located station in Wettzell, Germany.</p><p>Co-location of SLR and GNSS techniques onboard navigation satellites allows for the realization of the terrestrial reference frame in space, onboard Galileo and GLONASS satellites, independently from the ground measurements. It may also deliver independent information on the local tie values with full variance-covariance data for each day with common measurements or can contribute to the control of the ground measurements as long as both GNSS and SLR-to-GNSS observations are available.</p>

scholarly journals Satellite Availability and Service Performance Evaluation for Next-Generation GNSS, RNSS and LEO Augmentation Constellation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 3698
Author(s):  
Haomeng Cui ◽  
Shoujian Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Satellite System ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Satellite Visibility ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Average Position

Positioning accuracy is affected by the combined effect of user range errors and the geometric distribution of satellites. Dilution of precision (DOP) is defined as the geometric strength of visible satellites. DOP is calculated based on the satellite broadcast or precise ephemerides. However, because the modernization program of next-generation navigation satellite systems is still under construction, there is a lack of real ephemerides to assess the performance of next-generation constellations. Without requiring real ephemerides, we describe a method to estimate satellite visibility and DOP. The improvement of four next-generation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (four-GNSS-NG), compared to the navigation constellations that are currently in operation (four-GNSS), is statistically analyzed. The augmentation of the full constellation the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (7-QZSS) and the Navigation with Indian Constellation (11-NavIC) for regional users and the low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation enhancing four-GNSS performance are also analyzed based on this method. The results indicate that the average number visible satellites of the four-GNSS-NG will reach 44.86, and the average geometry DOP (GDOP) will be 1.19, which is an improvement of 17.3% and 7.8%, respectively. With the augmentation of the 120-satellite mixed-orbit LEO constellation, the multi-GNSS visible satellites will increase by 5 to 8 at all latitudes, while the GDOP will be reduced by 6.2% on average. Adding 7-QZSS and 11-NavIC to the four-GNSS-NG, 37.51 to 71.58 satellites are available on global scales. The average position DOP (PDOP), horizontal DOP (HDOP), vertical DOP (VDOP), and time DOP (TDOP) are reduced to 0.82, 0.46, 0.67 and 0.44, respectively.

SUPPORTING DISTRESS SIGNALS OVER LOW EARTH ORBIT MOBILE SATELLITE SYSTEMS FOR EMERGENCY INFORMATION ACQUISITION

2013 ◽  
Vol 09 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 1350018
Author(s):  
GAMAL A. HUSSEIN ◽  
MOSTAFA A. NOFAL ◽  
MOAWAD I. DESSOUKY ◽  
OSAMA ALY ORABY ◽  
WALEED AL-HANAFY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Mobile Satellite ◽  
Voice Data ◽  
Leo Satellite ◽  
Service Priority

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems allow a broad range of services to be provided using small, lightweight, cellular-like portable telephones. Exploiting LEO satellites to support distress signals for aircrafts, ships and international travelers is explored in the current paper. A multi-service priority-oriented algorithm is proposed for handling voice, data and emergency signals over LEO satellites. The emergency signal is privileged with service priority so that rescue operation can be carried out as soon as possible. The priority mechanism includes channel reservation as well as joining a queue if no free channel is available as long as the request is roaming in the handover area. In addition, a simplified but efficient approach is suggested for locating the object of an imminent danger situation. As LEO satellites are non-geostationary, the visible period of each spot-beam is small. Consequently, a teletraffic model, that accommodates the mobility of spot-beams as well as the resulting handover rate, is developed in order to gauge the performance of the proposed algorithm. Numerical results for access denying and service-dropping rates are presented for nominal system parameters.

scholarly journals 100 kHz satellite laser ranging demonstration at Matera Laser Ranging Observatory

2021 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Dequal ◽  
Costantino Agnesi ◽  
David Sarrocco ◽  
Luca Calderaro ◽  
Luigi Santamaria Amato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Repetition Rate ◽  
Attitude Determination ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
High Repetition Rate ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Satellite Laser Ranging ◽  
Laser Ranging ◽  
Single Shot ◽  
Time Jitter ◽  
Main Instrument

AbstractThe new challenges related to the monitoring of Earth’s shape and motion have led the global geodetic observing system to set more stringent requirements on the precision and stability of the terrestrial reference frame (TRF). The achievement of this ambitious goal depends on the improvement of space geodesy techniques, satellite laser ranging (SLR) in particular, being the main instrument for TRF realization. In this work, we study the potential of very high repetition rate SLR by performing a data acquisition campaign with an Ekspla “Atlantic 60” 100 kHz repetition rate laser at the Matera Laser Ranging Observatory (MLRO). This system constitutes an increase of two orders of magnitude in repetition rate with respect to the current SLR stations, while maintaining a good single-shot timing performance. The system has been active for 4 consecutive nights, consistently tracking several low Earth orbit satellites as well as LAGEOS 1 and 2. The results have shown a single-shot time jitter close to other stations, but with unprecedented statistics for $$\approx 10$$ ≈ 10 ps single-shot precision. The analysis of the residuals of LAGEOS satellites allowed us to identify multiple peaks, due to the retroflection from different corner cubes. This opens up the possibility of attitude determination of retroreflector arrays, as well as a new method for spin rate measurement.

scholarly journals Forecasting Methods of Battery Charge and Discharge Current Profile for LEO Satellites

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 2999
Author(s):  
Seok-Teak Yun ◽  
Seung-Hyun Kong
Keyword(s):  
Discharge Current ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Mission Design ◽  
Access Time ◽  
Current Profile ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Battery Charge ◽  
Leo Satellites ◽  
Leo Satellite

The orbital characteristics of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems prevent continuous monitoring because ground access time is limited. For this reason, the development of simulators for predicting satellite states for the entire orbit is required. Power-related prediction is one of the important LEO satellite simulations because it is directly related to the lifespan and mission of the satellite. Accurate predictions of the charge and discharge current of a power system’s battery are essential for fault management design, mission design, and expansion of LEO satellites. However, it is difficult to accurately predict the battery power demand and charging of LEO satellites because they have nonlinear characteristics that depend on the satellite’s attitude, season, orbit, mission, and operating period. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel battery charge and discharge current prediction technique using the bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) model for the development of a LEO satellite power simulator. The prediction performance is demonstrated by applying the proposed technique to the KOM-SAT-3A and KOMSAT-5 satellites operating in real orbits. As a result, the prediction accuracy of the proposed Bi-LSTM shows root mean square error (RMSE) within 2.3 A, and the prediction error well outperforms the most recent the probability-based SARIMA model.

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