Initial results of centralized autonomous orbit determination of the new-generation BDS satellites with inter-satellite link measurements

Autonomous orbit determination is the ability of navigation satellites to estimate the orbit parameters on-board using inter-satellite link (ISL) measurements. This study mainly focuses on data processing of the ISL measurements as a new measurement type and its application on the centralized autonomous orbit determination of the new-generation Beidou navigation satellite system satellites for the first time. The ISL measurements are dual one-way measurements that follow a time division multiple access (TDMA) structure. The ranging error of the ISL measurements is less than 0.25 ns. This paper proposes a derivation approach to the satellite clock offsets and the geometric distances from TDMA dual one-way measurements without a loss of accuracy. The derived clock offsets are used for time synchronization, and the derived geometry distances are used for autonomous orbit determination. The clock offsets from the ISL measurements are consistent with the L-band two-way satellite, and time–frequency transfer clock measurements and the detrended residuals vary within 0.5 ns. The centralized autonomous orbit determination is conducted in a batch mode on a ground-capable server for the feasibility study. Constant hardware delays are present in the geometric distances and become the largest source of error in the autonomous orbit determination. Therefore, the hardware delays are estimated simultaneously with the satellite orbits. To avoid uncertainties in the constellation orientation, a ground anchor station that “observes” the satellites with on-board ISL payloads is introduced into the orbit determination. The root-mean-square values of orbit determination residuals are within 10.0 cm, and the standard deviation of the estimated ISL hardware delays is within 0.2 ns. The accuracy of the autonomous orbits is evaluated by analysis of overlap comparison and the satellite laser ranging (SLR) residuals and is compared with the accuracy of the L-band orbits. The results indicate that the radial overlap differences between the autonomous orbits are less than 15.0 cm for the inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites and less than 10.0 cm for the MEO satellites. The SLR residuals are approximately 15.0 cm for the IGSO satellites and approximately 10.0 cm for the MEO satellites, representing an improvement over the L-band orbits.     

Orbit and clock analysis of Compass GEO and IGSO satellites

China is currently focussing on the establishment of its own global navigation satellite system called Compass or BeiDou. At present, the Compass constellation provides four usable satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and five satellites in inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO). Based on a network of six Compass-capable receivers, orbit and clock parameters of these satellites were determined. The orbit consistency is on the 1–2 dm level for the IGSO satellites and on the several decimeter level for the GEO satellites. These values could be confirmed by an independent validation with satellite laser ranging. All Compass clocks show a similar performance but have a slightly lower stability compared to Galileo and the latest generation of GPS satellites. A Compass-only precise point positioning based on the products derived from the six-receiver network provides an accuracy of several centimeters compared to the GPS-only results.     

北斗卫星导航系统实时定轨及SSR改正信息生成方法

随着GNSS应用的不断发展,实时位置服务已经成为国内外研究热点,而北斗卫星导航系统的实时服务尚处于发展阶段。本文基于卫星精密定轨基本原理,讨论了北斗导航卫星实时轨道确定策略;研究了基于北斗卫星质心和天线相位中心的SSR轨道改正值生成方法,并给出了一种适合北斗导航卫星的IODE值表达方式;基于国家基准站和全球MGEX站数据,进行了北斗导航卫星的实时轨道解算测试,结果表明,GEO卫星1D RMS精度优于400 cm,平均精度为223 cm,其径向精度优于20 cm;IGSO卫星精度优于30 cm,平均精度为22 cm,其径向精度优于10 cm;MEO卫星精度优于30 cm,平均精度为15 cm,其径向精度优于10 cm。     

Precise orbit determination of BeiDou constellation: method comparison

Chinese BeiDou navigation satellite system is in official service as a regional constellation with five geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites, five inclined geosynchronous satellite orbit (IGSO) satellites and four medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites. There are mainly two methods for precise orbit determination of the BeiDou constellation found in the current literatures. One is the independent single-system method, where only BeiDou observations are used without help from other GNSS systems. The other is the two-step GPS-assisted method where in the first step, GPS data are used to resolve some common parameters, such as station coordinates, receiver clocks and zenith tropospheric delay parameters, which are then introduced as known quantities in BeiDou processing in the second step. We conduct a thorough performance comparison between the two methods. Observations from the BeiDou experimental tracking stations and the IGS Multi-GNSS Experiment network from January 1 to March 31, 2013, are processed with the Positioning and Navigation Data Analyst (PANDA) software. The results show that for BeiDou IGSO and MEO satellites, the two-step GPS-assisted method outperforms the independent single-system method in both internal orbit overlap precision and external satellite laser ranging validation. For BeiDou GEO satellites, the two methods show close performances. Zenith tropospheric delays estimated from the first method are very close to those estimated from GPS precise point positioning in the second method, with differences of several millimeters. Satellite clock estimates from the two methods show similar performances when assessing the stability of the BeiDou on board clocks.     

Estimation of antenna phase center offset for BDS IGSO and MEO satellites

The BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS) is different from other global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) because of its special constellation, which consists of satellites in geostationary earth orbit, inclined geosynchronous earth orbit (IGSO), and medium earth orbit (MEO). Compared to MEO satellites, the observations of IGSO satellites cover only a small range of nadir angles. Therefore, the estimation of phase center offsets (PCOs) suffers from high correlation with other estimation parameters. We have estimated the phase center offsets for BeiDou IGSO and MEO satellites with a direct PCO parameters model, and constraints are applied to cope with the correlation between the PCOs and other parameters. Validation shows that the estimated PCO parameters could be used to improve the accuracy of orbit and clock offset overlaps. Compared with the Multi-GNSS Experiment antenna phase center correction model, the average improvements of the proposed method for along-track, cross-track, and radial components are 19 mm (31%), 5 mm (14%), and 2 mm (15%) for MEO satellites, and 13 mm (17%), 12 mm (21%), and 5 mm (19%) for IGSO satellites. For clock offset overlaps, average improvements of standard deviation and root mean square (RMS) are 0.03 ns (20%) and 0.03 ns (12%), respectively. The RMS of precise coordinates in the BDS-only positioning was also improved significantly with a level of 24 mm (30%) in the up-direction. Finally, the overall uncertainty of the estimated results is discussed.     

引入国家基准站的北斗导航卫星精密定轨

卫星精密轨道的确定是北斗卫星导航系统位置与服务的核心技术之一,而国家基准站是影响卫星轨道精度的一个重要因素。本文基于中国测绘科学研究院国际GNSS监测与评估中心自主开发的软件计算国家基准站和MGEX站对北斗卫星精密定轨的影响。得出结果：加上国家基准站后GEO卫星轨道精度平均能达到2.0 m,比没有国家基准站时提高约14%,在GEO切向方向改善最为明显,大约提高30%。IGSO和MEO卫星也有所提高。加上国家基准站后,三类卫星的轨道重复弧段的径向精度优于5 cm。有了国家基准站数据BDS精密轨道会有明显的改善。国家基准站的建立使我国北斗导航卫星的服务能力有很大提高。     

风云三号D星天基BDS实时定位性能分析

随着北斗三号卫星导航系统(BeiDou navigation satellite system-3, BDS-3)开始向全球提供导航服务,独立使用BDS为在轨运行的卫星提供全球覆盖、全时段的定位服务成为可能。结合风云三号D星(FengYun-3D, FY-3D)全球卫星导航系统掩星探测仪(global navigation satellite system occultation sounder, GNOS)的真实在轨数据对天基BDS的定位性能进行了详细的分析。首先,使用BDS真实广播星历计算了在不同轨道高度下的可见卫星数和定位精度因子（position dilution of precision, PDOP）,并结合精密星历分析了广播星历的轨道误差、时钟误差及空间信号测距误差(signal-in-space range error, SISRE)。仿真结果表明,在95%的置信水平下,从地面到2 000 km的轨道高度,BDS在全球范围内最小可见卫星数为6,最大PDOP小于5,星座可用性已经达到100%,全球平均可见卫星数BDS比GPS(global positioning syste...     

北斗卫星精密轨道与钟差精度分析

针对北斗卫星导航系统的卫星姿态模型、天线相位中心改正及卫星定轨数据处理策略未统一的现状,该文对比分析了武汉大学和德国地学研究中心提供的北斗事后精密轨道和钟差产品的差异及精度,结合实测数据,通过分析精密单点定位的定位精度来比较两中心精密轨道和钟差的差异。实验结果表明:北斗卫星的精密轨道精度与轨道类型有关,地球静止轨道(GEO)卫星的轨道精度为米级,倾斜地球同步轨道(IGSO)卫星的轨道精度为分米级,中地球轨道(MEO)卫星切向、法向和径向的精度分别为10.81、5.41和3.37cm;GEO卫星钟差精度优于0.38ns,IGSO卫星钟差优于0.25ns,MEO卫星钟差优于0.15ns;两家分析中心产品的北斗静态精密单点定位的平面精度相当;北斗静态精密单点定位的RMS统计值平面精度优于3cm,三维精度优于7cm。     

关于建设北斗星基广域增强系统研究

鉴于GPS系统已经成熟,北斗导航系统建设尚不完善,本文考虑建设北斗卫星对GPS卫星的增强系统。一方面,采用GPS/Compass-Ⅱ组合卫星导航系统,可大大增加某一时刻的可见卫星数,增强导航定位系统的可靠性。另一方面,北斗现已发射第九颗导航卫星,其中包括5颗地球静止轨道卫星,本文重点探讨利用这5颗GEO(Geostationary Orbit,GEO)卫星对GPS系统进行外部增强,即北斗GEO卫星同时播发卫星导航电文和增强信息,提高用户定位精度。     

星蚀期北斗卫星轨道性能分析——SLR检核结果

星蚀期北斗卫星的轨道性能是北斗卫星导航系统性能分析的重要部分。了解北斗卫星导航系统星历中星蚀期轨道的精度,不仅可为系统服务性能评估提供支持,还有助于了解星蚀期精密定轨中相关模型可能存在的问题,进而为精密定轨函数模型改进提供参考。本文基于2014年1月至2015年7月的卫星激光测距资料,重点分析了星蚀期对北斗不同类型卫星轨道的影响,同时也对北斗广播星历和精密星历中整体轨道径向精度进行检核。结果表明:星蚀期内(尤其是偏航机动期间),IGSO/MEO卫星的广播星历和精密星历轨道均存在明显的精度下降;广播星历轨道径向误差达1.5~2.0m,精密星历轨道径向误差超过10.0cm。但仅从轨道径向残差序列中难以发现星蚀期对GEO卫星轨道是否有显著影响。非星蚀期间,IGSO/MEO卫星和GEO卫星的广播星历轨道径向精度分别优于0.5 m和0.9 m。IGSO/MEO卫星的精密星历轨道径向精度优于10.0cm,GEO卫星的轨道径向精度约50.0cm,且存在40.0cm左右的系统性偏差。     

姿态模式切换期间QZSS卫星轨道及其钟差产品特性分析

导航卫星姿态控制模式切换对精密定轨解算得到的轨道和钟差均有较大影响。本文首先从理论上分析了卫星偏航姿态及其对精密定轨的影响,然后分别以卫星激光测距检核和钟差多项式拟合的方法对IGS MGEX分析中心的QZSS卫星轨道和钟差产品精度进行评价,最后以谱分析方法和改进阿伦方差揭示了卫星钟差的周期特性。基于2014年全年的QZSS卫星轨道和钟差产品的研究表明,一年内有两次长约20 d的地影季,太阳角呈现半年周期的波动;QZSS卫星在低太阳角时有零偏保护,其卫星轨道和钟差精度都与太阳角有显著相关性;卫星钟差具有与轨道周期相近的周期项,且周期项振幅与太阳角的大小也具有相关性,表明现有的定轨策略存在不足。考虑到QZSS与目前北斗星座中IGSO和MEO卫星姿态控制模式的相似性,该结论对于研究我国BDS姿态切换期间的精密定轨有一定参考价值。     

基于北斗星间链路的卫星自主导航可行性分析

北斗三号卫星导航系统(BeiDou-3 navigation satellite system, BDS-3)在BDS-2基础上,设计实现了高速宽带星间链路网络,以期实现导航和通信的一体化建设,并为卫星自主定轨(autonomous orbit determination,AOD)技术的实现积累宝贵的实测数据。首先,利用星间链路数据建立分布式AOD模型;然后,利用实测的BDS-3星间链路数据,分析了18颗中圆轨道(medium Earth orbit, MEO)卫星间的建链有效率、星座构型及星间测量噪声,并讨论了轨道初值、滤波处理间隔等因素对AOD精度的影响;最后,给出了基于北斗三号系统18颗MEO卫星星间测距数据的AOD结果,用事后精密轨道产品对其进行了评估分析。结果表明:(1)BDS-3星间链路运行稳定,每颗卫星基本可维持9条左右的星间双向测距链路,星间有效链路数和星座布局已能够支撑实现分布式导航星座的AOD;(2)轨道初始精度、滤波处理间隔等都会影响状态估计精度和收敛速度;(3)轨道初值位置精度为0.1 m、滤波处理间隔为60 s的条件下,AOD连续运行30天的用户测距误差(us...     

基于星间链路的完好性参数SISMA计算方法

地基完好性监测是利用四个或四个以上的精确坐标的监测站对卫星进行监测,计算其星历及星钟误差。该方法需满足四重以上监测站覆盖条件,对于自主导航和区域布站的导航系统不能实现导航卫星的全弧段完好性监测。对于不满足上述覆盖条件的卫星,采用基于星间链路的监测方法,利用四个或四个以上的具有一定坐标误差的卫星对该卫星进行监测。通过星历数据和星间测距数据计算SISMA,从而进行导航卫星全弧段的完好性监测。     

不同姿态控制模式下的北斗卫星定轨策略研究

北斗卫星的姿态控制分为动态偏置、零偏置和连续动偏3种,不同类型卫星、不同姿态控制模式、不同时段下定轨精度不一致,影响了北斗系统的连续性。详细研究了北斗不同类型卫星在不同姿态控制模式下的最优定轨策略,并基于实测数据进行试验,结果表明,BeiDou-2 IGSO（inclined geosynchronous orbit）/MEO（medium earth orbit）卫星采用基于星地钟差约束下多星定轨方法和ECOM（extended CODE model）5参数模型相结合的方法定轨精度最优,零偏期间,用户等效距离误差值为2.08 m,全球激光评估轨道视向精度约为1 m;BeiDou-3 IGSO/MEO卫星采用常规多星定轨和ECOM 5参数模型相结合的方法定轨精度最优;连续动偏期间,用户等效距离误差值为1.22 m,全球激光评估轨道视向精度为0.23 m,与动偏期间精度一致;GEO（geostationary earth orbit）卫星在春秋分附近时段采用基于星地钟差约束下多星定轨方法和ECOM 9参数模型相结合的方法定轨精度最优,用户等效距离误差值为0.72 m。     

北斗混合星座分层约束下的精密定轨方法

针对北斗导航卫星系统首创的GEO+IGSO+MEO混合星座设计,本文研究了根据不同星座,采取不同约束条件和数据处理策略的北斗卫星精密定轨方法,提出了一种针对北斗系统混合星座的分层约束精密定轨方案.该方案首先将北斗卫星分为非GEO(IGSO/MEO)和GEO两部分进行解算,利用GPS解算的公共参数对北斗IGSO/MEO精...     

Conjugated asymmetry of the onset and magnitude of GPS scintillation driven by the vertical plasma drift

Traditional intersatellite communications for shared timing information rely on microwave transceivers such as those in Milstar, AEHF, and Iridium constellations. With extensive space heritage and well-established engineering and performance specifications, these methods have typified the field of high-performance satellite synchronization for decades, recently introduced into active GNSS satellite constellations such as BeiDou. Optical crosslinks, currently investigated as an augmentation or alternative to traditional microwave-based methods, can provide enhanced precision to intersatellite ranging and time transfer, performing beyond one-way or uplink/downlink microwave-based communications. The challenges of time transfer through optical links and crosslinks can significantly impact the systems architecture, optical terminal complexity, and agreements on international standards. Orders-of-magnitude precision enhancement can enable novel timing and ranging technologies allowing for advanced navigation capabilities. Additionally, basic scientific studies with a fleet of synchronized satellites could inform fundamental physics studies on a truly global scale. We evaluate the benefits, drawbacks, and potential applications of satellite synchronization through microwave and optical crosslinks for shared timing and ephemeris data in support of enhanced constellation state estimation and reduced range error. The risks and value associated with these technologies are also discussed with an emphasis on challenges for aerospace.

     

北斗高精度长弧历书模型设计

历书参数可同时用于辅助常规导航和自主导航的信号捕获。延长历书参数的有效期不但可以使地面接收机启动时充分利用历书数据,对于基于星间链路观测的自主导航,历书参数的有效期还决定了地面注入历书的频度和占用的星上存储资源。通过对北斗3类导航卫星主要摄动力及其对轨道根数的长期项和长周期项的影响分析,设计了以6个轨道根数和5个摄动参数为播发参数的历书拟合模型。以一个自主运行周期90 d为时间尺度,对北斗在轨卫星进行了长弧段历书拟合试验,并同时分析了卫星位置和速度的拟合精度。结果表明新的历书拟合模型提高了历书拟合的精度,尤其对于地球静止轨道和倾斜地球同步轨道卫星,拟合精度提高显著。对于GEO和IGSO卫星,位置拟合误差大约从200 km降低至十几千米甚至几千米,速度拟合误差大约从15 m/s降低至0.6 m/s,新方法拟合精度提高了约20~30倍;对于中圆地球轨道卫星,无论采用哪种历书模型,位置拟合误差都在5 km左右,速度拟合误差都在0.6 m/s左右,新方法拟合精度提高约15%。针对星间链路卫星10 km位置误差上限的使用需求,对比了新老历书模型的拟合弧长,常规模型最大拟合弧长约为14 d,而新历书模型的最大拟合弧长可延长至45 d,新历书模型延长了历书使用期限,优化了北斗历书模型设计。     

小型化LEO星座与BDS-3全星座联合定轨仿真

受限于区域监测站及地球静止轨道(geosynchronous earth orbit, GEO)卫星的静地特性,北斗卫星导航系统(BeiDou satellite navigation system,BDS)定轨精度较差,加入低轨卫星(low earth orbit,LEO)星载数据可显著提升定轨精度。使用一种由24颗LEO卫星组成的小型低轨卫星星座,在BDS-3全星座情况下,仿真分析了导航卫星与低轨卫星联合定轨对北斗卫星轨道的提升程度。分别进行仅地面测站定轨、地面测站与LEO联合定轨试验,包含全球均匀、亚太区域、亚海分布3类测站布局。结果表明:(1)仅地面测站定轨时,GEO卫星轨道三维精度在分米量级,加入LEO观测数据后,定轨精度在厘米量级,提升程度达80%以上;(2)区域地面测站时,导航卫星轨道三维精度在分米量级,加入LEO卫星后,所有类型导航卫星定轨精度均提升至数个厘米,提升效果显著;(3)全球均匀测站时,LEO的加入仍然可提升倾斜地球同步轨道/中高轨道卫星定轨精度,提升效果在毫米至厘米量级。     

Initial results of precise orbit and clock determination for COMPASS navigation satellite system

The development of the COMPASS satellite system is introduced, and the regional tracking network and data availability are described. The precise orbit determination strategy of COMPASS satellites is presented. Data of June 2012 are processed. The obtained orbits are evaluated by analysis of post-fit residuals, orbit overlap comparison and SLR (satellite laser ranging) validation. The RMS (root mean square) values of post-fit residuals for one month’s data are smaller than 2.0 cm for ionosphere-free phase measurements and 2.6 m for ionosphere-free code observations. The 48-h orbit overlap comparison shows that the RMS values of differences in the radial component are much smaller than 10 cm and those of the cross-track component are smaller than 20 cm. The SLR validation shows that the overall RMS of observed minus computed residuals is 68.5 cm for G01 and 10.8 cm for I03. The static and kinematic PPP solutions are produced to further evaluate the accuracy of COMPASS orbit and clock products. The static daily COMPASS PPP solutions achieve an accuracy of better than 1 cm in horizontal and 3 cm in vertical. The accuracy of the COMPASS kinematic PPP solutions is within 1–2 cm in the horizontal and 4–7 cm in the vertical. In addition, we find that the COMPASS kinematic solutions are generally better than the GPS ones for the selected location. Furthermore, the COMPASS/GPS combinations significantly improve the accuracy of GPS only PPP solutions. The RMS values are basically smaller than 1 cm in the horizontal components and 3–4 cm in the vertical component.     

北斗卫星太阳光压解析模型建立及应用

光压模型是导航卫星高精度定轨、定位的基础。目前关于北斗卫星光压摄动模型的研究并不少见,但基于卫星物理参数的综合解析模型建立与应用公开可见的论述并不多见。不同于其他保守和非保守摄动力,光压辐射与卫星本身参数状态密切相关,具有明显的个体差异性。本文基于光压辐射的物理机理、北斗卫星物理参数、姿态控制模式等,建立光压摄动综合解析模型,以精密星历和激光测距数据为基准,验证了综合解析模型能够获得分米级的精密定轨精度。在此基础上,根据卫星角动量守恒和在轨遥测参数变化,分析了综合解析模型和在轨实际干扰力的差值,提出了在综合解析模型基础上增加常数经验修正项Da、Ya的方法,以北斗C08、C10星为例,分别可获得0.078、0.084 m的SLR检核精度,相比于利用CODE经验改进模型,精度分别提高0.021、0.045 m。