基于超快速星历进行实时反演大气水汽总量的可行性研究

从GPS气象学实际应用的角度出发,能够实时获取高时空分辨率的大气水汽场是一个十分关键的问题。基于地基GPS遥感水汽的原理,利用香港地区CORS网的实际测量数据进行试验,根据IGS网站提供的不同精度的轨道信息设计了试验方案,并且比较了方案中最终精密星历、超快速星历以及气象探空站探测得到的大气可降水量序列。实验结果表明,利用超快速星历反演算出的大气水汽总量与最终精密星历一致,其精度可以满足气象预报等实时业务的需求。      

Real-time kinematic positioning of LEO satellites using a single-frequency GPS receiver

Due to their low cost and low power consumption, single-frequency GPS receivers are considered suitable for low-cost space applications such as small satellite missions. Recently, requirements have emerged for real-time accurate orbit determination at sub-meter level in order to carry out onboard geocoding of high-resolution imagery, open-loop operation of altimeters and radio occultation. This study proposes an improved real-time kinematic positioning method for LEO satellites using single-frequency receivers. The C/A code and L1 phase are combined to eliminate ionospheric effects. The epoch-differenced carrier phase measurements are utilized to acquire receiver position changes which are further used to smooth the absolute positions. A kinematic Kalman filter is developed to implement kinematic orbit determination. Actual flight data from China’s small satellite SJ-9A are used to test the navigation performance. Results show that the proposed method outperforms traditional kinematic positioning method in terms of accuracy. A 3D position accuracy of 0.72 and 0.79 m has been achieved using the predicted portion of IGS ultra-rapid products and broadcast ephemerides, respectively.     

Precision real-time navigation of LEO satellites using global positioning system measurements

Continued advancements in remote sensing technology along with a trend towards highly autonomous spacecraft provide a strong motivation for accurate real-time navigation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors nowadays enable a continuous tracking and provide low-noise radiometric measurements onboard a user spacecraft. Following the deactivation of Selective Availability a representative real-time positioning accuracy of 10 m is presently achieved by spaceborne global positioning system (GPS) receivers on LEO satellites. This accuracy can notably be improved by use of dynamic orbit determination techniques. Besides a filtering of measurement noise and other short-term errors, these techniques enable the processing of ambiguous measurements such as carrier phase or code-carrier combinations. In this paper a reference algorithm for real-time onboard orbit determination is described and tested with GPS measurements from various ongoing space missions covering an altitude range of 400–800 km. A trade-off between modeling effort and achievable accuracy is performed, which takes into account the limitations of available onboard processors and the restricted upload capabilities. Furthermore, the benefits of different measurements types and the available real-time ephemeris products are assessed. Using GPS broadcast ephemerides a real-time position accuracy of about 0.5 m (3D rms) is feasible with dual-frequency carrier phase measurements. Slightly inferior results (0.6–1 m) are achieved with single-frequency code-carrier combinations or dual-frequency code. For further performance improvements the use of more accurate real-time GPS ephemeris products is mandatory. By way of example, it is shown that the TDRSS Augmentation Service for Satellites (TASS) offers the potential for 0.1–0.2 m real-time navigation accuracies onboard LEO satellites.     

Rapid orbit determination of LEO satellites using IGS clock and ephemeris products

Different types of GPS clock and orbit data provided by the International GPS Service (IGS) have been used to assess the accuracy of rapid orbit determination for satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) using spaceborne GPS measurements. To avoid the need for reference measurements from ground-based reference receivers, the analysis is based on an undifferenced processing of GPS code and carrier-phase measurements. Special attention is therefore given to the quality of GPS clock data that directly affects the resulting orbit determination accuracy. Interpolation of clock data from the available 15 min grid points is identified as a limiting factor in the use of IGS ultra-rapid ephemerides. Despite this restriction, a 10-cm orbit determination accuracy can be obtained with these products data as demonstrated for the GRACE-B spacecraft during selected data arcs between 2002 and 2004. This performance may be compared with a 5-cm orbit determination accuracy achievable with IGS rapid and final products using 5 min clock samples. For improved accuracy, high-rate (30 s) clock solutions are recommended that are presently only available from individual IGS centers. Likewise, a reduced latency and more frequent updates of IGS ultra-rapid ephemerides are desirable to meet the requirements of upcoming satellite missions for near real-time and precise orbit determination.     

星载GPS 伪距观测量重建及定轨精度分析

讨论了如何从星上下传的卫星位置数据中重建星载GPS 伪距观测量, 分析了重建伪距数据事后动力学 定轨精度及该方法对提高LEO 卫星位置精度的贡献。GRACE-A 卫星2008 年3 月1 日—14 日实测数据计算结果表明: 重建数据事后动力学定轨能显著提高地面主控站接收到的LEO 卫星实时位置精度; 其中由C/A 码伪距和广播星历 实时单点定位得到的卫星位置精度约为15m, 重建伪距事后动力学定轨得到的卫星位置精度约为2m。     

基于Bernese软件对卫星定轨实时计算

利用GPS广播星历计算卫星坐标是GPS实时定位中的重要部分,卫星轨道精度对GPS定位结果有很大影响。依据Bernese卫星定轨流程,利用Fortran语言实现了卫星轨道处理程序,并通过实例对计算得到的卫星轨道坐标与Bernese5.0软件处理的广播星历和精密星历得到结果进行比较分析,误差均小于±2.5m,程序定位效果良好,证实了自编程序的可行性。     

Metop-GRAS in-orbit instrument performance

The GRAS instrument on the Metop-A satellite provides more than 600 radio occultation measurement profiles per day. The instrument is characterized by its wide antenna coverage, high signal-to-noise ratio and an ultra-stable clock reference. The conventional dual-frequency tracking of GPS signals is under dynamic atmosphere conditions complemented by open loop tracking with sampling of the signal at a 1 kHz rate, providing an unprecedented view of the signal spectral environment. This paper presents the instrument performance as derived from analysis of in-orbit measurement data. We show that the noise figure is low enough to enable mapping of external radio noise variations over the earth’s surface. An error propagation model is presented to relate instrument characteristics to bending angle performance. This model is also used to illustrate the relation between filter bandwidth, resolution and measurement noise. The Doppler model, guiding open loop measurements, is found to be accurate to better than 20 Hz with a possibility for improvement to 10 Hz. The high performance at low altitudes enables the presence of surface reflections at the −20-dB level to be identified in more than 50% of the occultations. The potential performance improvements for next generation receivers are discussed.     

Impact of GPS radio occultation data assimilation on regional weather predictions

The impact of GPS radio occultation (RO) data assimilation on severe weather predictions in East Asia is introduced and reviewed. Both the local observation operator that assimilates the retrieved refractivity as local point measurement, and the nonlocal observation operator that assimilates the integrated retrieved refractivity along a straight raypath have been utilized in WRF 3DVAR to improve the initial analysis of the model. A general evaluation of the impact of these approaches on Asian regional analysis and daily prediction is provided in this paper. In general, the GPS RO data assimilation may improve prediction of severe weather such as typhoons and Mei-yu systems when COSMIC data were available, ranging from several points in 2006 to a maximum of about 60 in 2007 and 2008 in this region. Based on a number of experiments, regional model predictions at 5 km resolution were not significantly influenced by different observation operators, although the nonlocal observation operator sometimes results in slightly better track forecast. These positive impacts are seen not only in typhoon track prediction but also in prediction of local heavy rainfall associated with severe weather over Taiwan. The impact of 56 GPS RO soundings on track prediction of Cyclone Gonu (2007) over the Indian Ocean is also appealing when compared to other tracks assimilated with different observations. From a successive evaluation of skill scores for real-time forecasts on Mei-yu frontal systems operationally conducted over a longer period and predictions of six typhoons in 2008, assimilation of GPS RO data appears to have some positive impact on regional weather predictions, on top of existent assimilation with all other observations.     

Improved GRACE kinematic orbit determination using GPS receiver clock modeling

Kinematic positions of Low Earth Orbiters based on GPS tracking are frequently used as pseudo-observations for single satellite gravity field determination. Unfortunately, the accuracy of the satellite trajectory is partly limited because the receiver synchronization error has to be estimated along with the kinematic coordinates at every observation epoch. We review the requirements for GPS receiver clock modeling in Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and analyze its impact on kinematic orbit determination for the two satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission using both simulated and real data. We demonstrate that a piecewise linear parameterization can be used to model the ultra-stable oscillators that drive the GPS receivers on board of the GRACE satellites. Using such a continuous clock model allows position estimation even if the number of usable GPS satellites drops to three and improves the robustness of the solution with respect to outliers. Furthermore, simulations indicate a potential accuracy improvement of the satellite trajectory of at least 40 % in the radial direction and up to 7 % in the along-track and cross-track directions when a 60-s piecewise linear clock model is estimated instead of epoch-wise independent receiver clock offsets. For PPP with real GRACE data, the accuracy evaluation is hampered by the lack of a reference orbit of significantly higher accuracy. However, comparisons with a smooth reduced-dynamic orbit indicate a significant reduction of the high-frequency noise in the radial component of the kinematic orbit.     

基于超快速星历反演大气可降水量的精度分析

水汽是预报某些灾害性天气的重要依据,因此及时获得高分辨率的水汽产品对精准预报天气具有至关重要的意义．针对最终精密星历更新速度较慢、时延较长,无法满足实时反演大气可降水量的要求,提出一种利用超快速星历代替最终精密星历反演大气可降水量的方法:基于地基GNSS反演大气可降水量的原理,利用GAMIT软件,根据国际GNSS服务(IGS)网站提供的不同精度的星历产品获得大气可降水量,并与气象探空站所获得的大气可降水量对比分析．研究结果表明,利用超快速星历所获得的大气可将水量与最终精密星历一致,二者平均差值优于0.1 mm,且与探空站测得的大气可降水量值非常一致,其精度可以满足天气预报的需求．      

Global ionosphere map constructed by using total electron content from ground-based GNSS receiver and FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC GPS occultation experiment

Effects of rapidly changing ionospheric weather are critical in high accuracy positioning, navigation, and communication applications. A system used to construct the global total electron content (TEC) distribution for monitoring the ionospheric weather in near-real time is needed in the modern society. Here we build the TEC map named Taiwan Ionosphere Group for Education and Research (TIGER) Global Ionospheric Map (GIM) from observations of ground-based GNSS receivers and space-based FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) GPS radio occultation observations using the spherical harmonic expansion and Kalman filter update formula. The TIGER GIM (TGIM) will be published in near-real time of 4-h delay with a spatial resolution of 2.5° in latitude and 5° in longitude and a high temporal resolution of every 5 min. The F3/C TEC results in an improvement on the GIM of about 15.5%, especially over the ocean areas. The TGIM highly correlates with the GIMs published by other international organizations. Therefore, the routinely published TGIM in near-real time is not only for communication, positioning, and navigation applications but also for monitoring and scientific study of ionospheric weathers, such as magnetic storms and seismo-ionospheric anomalies.     

Kalman-filter-based GPS clock estimation for near real-time positioning

In this article, an algorithm for clock offset estimation of the GPS satellites is presented. The algorithm is based on a Kalman-filter and processes undifferenced code and carrier-phase measurements of a global tracking network. The clock offset and drift of the satellite clocks are estimated along with tracking station clock offsets, tropospheric zenith path delay and carrier-phase ambiguities. The article provides a brief overview of already existing near-real-time and real-time clock products. The filter algorithm and data processing scheme is presented. Finally, the accuracy of the orbit and clock product is assessed with a precise orbit determination of the MetOp satellite and compared to results gained with other real-time products.

星载BDS/GPS低轨卫星定轨精度分析

针对低轨卫星搭载BDS/GPS接收机实现定轨将成为定轨领域热点的现状,该文讨论了基于星载BDS/GPS实时定轨和精密定轨需要考虑的数学模型,阐述了实时定轨和精密定轨的模型差异。基于自主研发程序,利用高动态信号仿真器仿真的星载BDS/GPS数据研究了基于星载BDS/GPS实时定轨和精密定轨的可行性及其能达到的精度。试验结果表明,星载BDS/GPS实时定轨位置精度为1.19m,速度精度为2.35mm/s。GPS信号发生中断时即仅采用BDS观测数据进行实时定轨时,三维位置误差达到3.73m;星载BDS/GPS精密定轨位置精度为2.30cm,仅采用BDS观测数据进行精密定轨时,三维位置误差可达到8.26cm。     

基于BDS精密星历产品的水汽探测性能分析

研究北斗卫星导航系统（BDS）反演大气可降水量的性能有利于推动BDS在数值天气预报、气象学研究等方面的应用. 基于武汉大学发布的BDS最终精密星历产品(WUM)、快速精密星历产品(WHR)和超快速精密星历产品(WHU),利用MGEX站和单基站连续运行参考站（CORS）提供的全球卫星导航系统（GNSS）多模观测数据,在验证三种BDS精密星历产品解算对流层天顶延迟的精度达到要求后,将基于三种BDS精密星历产品解算的大气可降水量分别与GPS水汽探测结果、ERA-5再分析资料和探空站数据进行对比,分析基于三种精密星历产品的BDS水汽探测性能. 实验结果表明:基于BDS最终精密星历产品的大气水汽探测精度高于快速星历产品和超快速星历产品,三种BDS星历产品反演大气可降水量的相对精度和可靠性与GPS相当,满足中小尺度数值天气预报和气象学研究等要求.      

实时精密单点定位的远海实时GPS潮汐观测

针对IGS实时数据流产品,该文开展了实时精密单点定位技术在远海实时GPS验潮中的应用研究。对RTS改正的实时精密卫星轨道和钟差进行了精度验证和分析,给出了实时精密单点定位的数据处理策略以及实时GPS验潮的基本流程;组织和实施了渤海湾船载GPS验潮试验,以压力式验潮仪数据为参考,对远距离实时GPS潮汐测量结果进行了精度分析。结果表明:以IGS最终卫星轨道和钟差产品为参考,实时数据流产品实时精密卫星轨道在X、Y、Z方向的精度均优于3cm,卫星钟差的精度优于0.15ns;采用傅里叶低通滤波方法,消除波浪对潮汐观测的影响,进一步提取潮位信息。在忽略船体姿态改正的情况下,实时精密单点定位验潮相对于压力式验潮仪结果的最大偏差优于20cm,RMS达到7.5cm。     

Swarm系列卫星非差运动学厘米级精密定轨

采用2015年5月24日—30日的Swarm星载GPS双频观测数据,基于Melbourne-Wübbena(MW)和消电离层线性组合,在精密单点定位技术的基础上,采用批处理最小二乘估计法对不同轨道高度的Swarm系列卫星进行非差运动学精密定轨。利用星载GPS相位观测值残差、与欧空局发布的简化动力学轨道对比,以及SLR检核3种方法对Swarm系列卫星非差运动学定轨结果进行精度评估。结果表明:①Swarm系列卫星星载GPS相位观测值残差RMS为6~7 mm;②与欧空局发布的简化动力学轨道进行求差,径向、切向及法向轨道差值RMS为2~4 cm;③与欧空局发布的运动学轨道进行求差,径向、切向及法向轨道差值RMS为1~2 cm;④SLR检核结果表明Swarm-A/B/C卫星轨道精度为3~4 cm。因此,采用非差运动学定轨方法与本文提供的定轨策略进行Swarm系列卫星精密定轨是切实可行的,定轨精度为厘米级。     

SWARM卫星简化动力学厘米级精密定轨

联合星载GPS双频观测值与简化的动力学模型,在卫星运动方程中引入适当的伪随机脉冲参数,对SWARM卫星进行精密定轨。采用星载GPS相位观测值残差、重叠轨道以及与外部轨道对比等3种方法对SWARM卫星简化动力学定轨结果进行检核。结果表明:SWARM星载GPS相位观测值残差RMS为7~10mm;径向、切向以及法向6h重叠轨道差值RMS均在1cm左右,3个方向均无明显的系统误差。通过与欧空局(ESA)发布的精密轨道进行对比分析,径向轨道差值RMS为2~5cm,切向轨道差值RMS为2~5cm,法向轨道差值RMS为2~4cm,3D轨道差值RMS为4~7cm;SWARM-B定轨精度优于SWARM-A与SWARM-C。因此,采用简化动力学法与本文提供的定轨策略进行SWARM卫星精密定轨是切实可行的,定轨结果良好且稳定,定轨精度达到厘米级。     

GNSS广播星历轨道和钟差精度分析

为了对多个全球导航卫星系统（global navigation satellite system, GNSS）当前的广播星历精度进行一个全面的分析,对比了2014—2018年共5 a的GNSS广播星历与精密星历,并对全球定位系统（global positioning system, GPS）、格洛纳斯卫星导航系统（global navigation satellite system, GLONASS）、伽利略卫星导航系统（Galileo satellite navigation system, Galileo）、北斗卫星导航系统（BeiDou navigation satellite system, BDS）、准天顶卫星系统（quasi-zenith satellite system, QZSS）等5个系统的广播星历长期精度变化进行了分析。结果表明:5 a中GPS的广播星历轨道及钟差精度最稳定;GLONASS的广播星历轨道精度稳定性较好,但其钟差精度存在较大的离散度;Galileo得益于具备全面运行能力（full operational capability, FOC）卫星的大量发射及运行,其广播星历轨道、钟差精度大幅度变好,切向轨道、法向轨道与钟差精度已赶超GPS;BDS的广播星历轨道精度离散度较大,钟差精度出现不稳定现象;QZSS的广播星历轨道与钟差精度的稳定性与离散度相对最差。以2018年1 a的广播星历与精密星历为例分析了各个系统当前的广播星历精度,结果表明,当前GPS、GLONASS、Galileo、BDS、QZSS的考虑轨道误差与钟差误差贡献的空间信号测距误差（signal-in-space ranging error,SISRE）分别为0.806 m、2.704 m、0.320 m、1.457 m、1.645 m,表明Galileo广播星历整体精度最高,GPS次之,其次分别是BDS、QZSS和GLONASS。只考虑轨道误差贡献的SISRE分别为0.167 m、0.541 m、0.229 m、0.804 m、0.675 m,表明GPS广播星历轨道精度最高,其次分别是Galileo、GLONASS、QZSS和BDS。GPS卫星广播星历中新型号卫星的钟差精度总体要优于旧型号卫星。     

Use of radio-occultation data for ionospheric imaging during the April 2002 disturbances

In 1994, Hajj et al. (1994) proposed the use of radio occultation data in ionospheric imaging. The advantages gained by including this data source are examined in this paper. Many data sources including ground-based and satellite-based observations are available for the events of the April 2002 ionospheric disturbance. This period has been chosen to study simultaneous images of the disturbed ionosphere over the USA and Europe. A 4D tomographic imaging technique known as Multi-instrument Data Analysis System (MIDAS) (Mitchell and Spencer, 2003) is applied in this study. The primary purpose of the study is to compare images produced with and without the use of radio-occultation data. The work investigates whether GPS occultation combined with ground-based GPS data improves the determination of peak height and peak density in the images. The results indicate that the occultation data improve both the peak height and the peak density in the images. The use of ionosonde data is also examined and the results are compared between the USA and Europe.     

Tracking and orbit determination performance of the GRAS instrument on MetOp-A

The global navigation satellite system receiver for atmospheric sounding (GRAS) on MetOp-A is the first European GPS receiver providing dual-frequency navigation and occultation measurements from a spaceborne platform on a routine basis. The receiver is based on ESA’s AGGA-2 correlator chip, which implements a high-quality tracking scheme for semi-codeless P(Y) code tracking on the L1 and L2 frequency. Data collected with the zenith antenna on MetOp-A have been used to perform an in-flight characterization of the GRAS instrument with focus on the tracking and navigation performance. Besides an assessment of the receiver noise and systematic measurement errors, the study addresses the precise orbit determination accuracy achievable with the GRAS receiver. A consistency on the 5 cm level is demonstrated for reduced dynamics orbit solutions computed independently by four different agencies and software packages. With purely kinematic solutions, 10 cm accuracy is obtained. As a part of the analysis, an empirical antenna offset correction and preliminary phase center correction map are derived, which notably reduce the carrier phase residuals and improve the consistency of kinematic orbit determination results.