Precise orbit determination of the Fengyun-3C satellite using onboard GPS and BDS observations

The GNSS Occultation Sounder instrument onboard the Chinese meteorological satellite Fengyun-3C (FY-3C) tracks both GPS and BDS signals for orbit determination. One month’s worth of the onboard dual-frequency GPS and BDS data during March 2015 from the FY-3C satellite is analyzed in this study. The onboard BDS and GPS measurement quality is evaluated in terms of data quantity as well as code multipath error. Severe multipath errors for BDS code ranges are observed especially for high elevations for BDS medium earth orbit satellites (MEOs). The code multipath errors are estimated as piecewise linear model in \(2{^{\circ }}\times 2{^{\circ }}\) grid and applied in precise orbit determination (POD) calculations. POD of FY-3C is firstly performed with GPS data, which shows orbit consistency of approximate 2.7 cm in 3D RMS (root mean square) by overlap comparisons; the estimated orbits are then used as reference orbits for evaluating the orbit precision of GPS and BDS combined POD as well as BDS-based POD. It is indicated that inclusion of BDS geosynchronous orbit satellites (GEOs) could degrade POD precision seriously. The precisions of orbit estimates by combined POD and BDS-based POD are 3.4 and 30.1 cm in 3D RMS when GEOs are involved, respectively. However, if BDS GEOs are excluded, the combined POD can reach similar precision with respect to GPS POD, showing orbit differences about 0.8 cm, while the orbit precision of BDS-based POD can be improved to 8.4 cm. These results indicate that the POD performance with onboard BDS data alone can reach precision better than 10 cm with only five BDS inclined geosynchronous satellite orbit satellites and three MEOs. As the GNOS receiver can only track six BDS satellites for orbit positioning at its maximum channel, it can be expected that the performance of POD with onboard BDS data can be further improved if more observations are generated without such restrictions.     

TJS-2 geostationary satellite orbit determination using onboard GPS measurements

This study analyzes the quality of onboard data of tracking signals from GPS satellites on the far side of the earth and determines the orbit of the geostationary satellite using code and carrier phase observations with 30-h and 3-day orbit arc length. According to the analysis results, the onboard receiver can track 6–8 GPS satellites, and the minimum and maximum carrier to noise spectral densities were 24 and 45 dB-Hz, respectively. For a GPS receiver on a high-altitude platform above the navigation constellations, the blocking of the earth and a weak signal strength usually cause a piece-wise GPS signal tracking and an increase in the number of ambiguity parameters. Individual GPS satellites may be continuously tracked for as little as several minutes and as long as 3 h. Moreover, considering the negative sign of elevation angles reflects the fact that GPS satellites are tracked below the receiver in the study. GPS satellites appear mainly in the elevation angle range of ??53° to ??83°, and dilution of precision values could reach ten or one hundred and more. Also, it is observed that when a signal suffers from atmospheric refraction, other GPS signals tracked simultaneously by the receiver experience strong systematic errors in the code observations. Based on single-frequency code and carrier phase measurements, the mean 3D root mean square (RMS) value of the overlap comparisons between 30-h orbit determination arcs is 2.14 m. However, we found that there were also some biases in the carrier phase residuals, which contributed to poor orbit accuracy. To eliminate the effects of the biases, we established a correction sequence for each GPS satellite. After corrections, the mean 3D RMS was reduced to 0.99 m, representing a 53% improvement.     

卫星精密定轨的三频观测量IF组合法

随着全球卫星导航系统的发展,GNSS卫星发播多频观测量已成必然趋势。然而,目前IGS分析中心依然使用双频观测量的策略进行轨道、钟差等产品的解算,并没有顾及额外频点观测量对定轨产品带来的效益。本文使用两个双频无电离层组合（IF）作为观测模型,研究第三频点观测量对轨道、钟差及测站位置精度的改善。在观测方程中将卫星端的相位偏差分成时变和时不变分量,通过对两个IF组合的观测方程进行参数重组,推导了与IGS钟差产品基准一致的满秩观测模型。基于超宽巷、宽巷和窄巷双差模糊度构建策略,给出了三频观测量的模糊度固定方法。首先以12颗GPS Block IIF卫星为例,在两种测站布局情况下进行L1/L2 IF双频定轨（S1）、L1/L5 IF双频定轨（S2）、L1/L2和L1/L5两个IF组合的三频定轨（S3）试验。结果表明S3方案最优,测站均匀、不均匀情况下轨道结果S3相较S1分别改善10%以内、10%左右,钟差的RMS略有改善,STD分别改善6.4%、10.0%,而S3相较S2的改善幅度更小,改善百分比基本在5%以内。随后进行了BDS单系统定轨,并使用激光检核轨道,表明三频定轨较B1/B3定轨结果改善显著,但是较B1/B2方案结果改善微弱,可能的原因是天线相位中心误差改正值不准确。     

Enhanced orbit determination for BeiDou satellites with FengYun-3C onboard GNSS data

GPS Solutions - A key limitation for precise orbit determination of BeiDou satellites, particularly for satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO), is the relative weak geometry of ground stations....     

Modeling GPS satellite attitude variation for precise orbit determination

High precision geodetic applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS) require highly precise ephemerides of the GPS satellites. An accurate model for the non-gravitational forces on the GPS satellites is a key to high quality GPS orbit determination, especially in long arcs. In this paper the effect of the satellite solar panel orientation error is investigated. These effects are approximated by empirical functions to model the satellite attitude variation in long arc orbit fit. Experiments show that major part of the long arc GPS orbit errors can be accommodated by introducing a periodic variation of the satellite solar panel orientation with respect to the satellite-Sun direction, the desired direction for solar panel normal vector, with an amplitude of about 1 degree and with a frequency of once per orbit revolution.     

Beidou satellite maneuver thrust force estimation for precise orbit determination

Beidou satellites, especially geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites, need to be frequently maneuvered to keep them in position due to various perturbations. The satellite ephemerides are not available during such maneuver periods. Precise estimation of thrust forces acting on satellites would provide continuous ephemerides during maneuver periods and could significantly improve orbit accuracy immediately after the maneuver. This would increase satellite usability for both real-time and post-processing applications. Using 1 year of observations from the Multi-GNSS Experiment network (MGEX), we estimate the precise maneuver periods for all Beidou satellites and the thrust forces. On average, GEO and IGSO satellites in the Beidou constellation are maneuvered 12 and 2 times, respectively, each year. For GEO satellites, the maneuvers are mainly in-plane, while out-of-plane maneuvers are observed for IGSO satellites and a small number of GEO satellites. In most cases, the Beidou satellite maneuver periods last 15–25 min, but can be as much as 2 h for the few out-of-plane maneuvers of GEO satellites. The thrust forces acting on Beidou satellites are normally in the order of 0.1–0.7 mm/s². This can cause changes in velocity of GEO/IGSO satellites in the order of several decimeters per second. In the extreme cases of GEO out-of-plane maneuvers, very large cross-track velocity changes are observed, namely 28 m/s, induced by 5.4 mm/s² thrust forces. Also, we demonstrate that by applying the estimated thrust forces in orbit integration, the orbit errors can be estimated at decimeter level in along- and cross-track directions during normal maneuver periods, and 1–2 m in all the orbital directions for the enormous GEO out-of-plane maneuver.     

GPS卫星精密定轨中的地球引力加速度研究

影响GPS精密定轨的因素除卫星轨道初值外还取决于力模型的精度,而地球引力加速度是GPS卫星精密定轨力模型中最为重要的部分。为满足精密定轨需要,该文针对目前各IGS中心所采用的简化动力法,深入研究了GPS卫星精密定轨中的地球引力加速度,详细推导了相关公式并编写程序,先后选取7颗GPS卫星及1颗卫星进行计算验证,结果表明:该文所采用的算法得到的地球引力加速度的计算精度优于10E-11ms~(-2),并且当引力位模型阶数为8~12阶时,引力加速度无明显差异。     

Improving BDS integer ambiguity resolution using satellite-induced code bias correction for precise orbit determination

GPS Solutions - Successful resolution of integer ambiguity over long baselines is a key to improve the accuracy of precise orbit determination for global navigation satellite system satellites. The...     

地面测控站分布对北斗卫星精密定轨的影响

北斗卫星精确定轨是北斗卫星导航系统应用与服务的核心技术,而地面测控站的分布是影响其精度的主要原因之一。针对北斗卫星地面跟踪站的现状,该文基于几何法定轨的基本原理,将卫星定轨的观测方程线性化,根据位置精度衰减因子值的构成,分析了测站分布与卫星定轨精度之间的关系。通过3种实验方案,对比不同测站分布和测站数量对北斗卫星定轨精度和计算效率的影响。实验结果表明:仅利用现有iGMAS站和BETS站的观测数据,很难获取高精度的北斗定轨结果;增加国际MGEX的北斗数据后,定轨精度有明显提高,尤其体现在GEO卫星切线方向;利用40个全球均匀分布的北斗站与利用70个站的定轨精度相当,但前者的解算效率较后者可提高近1倍。     

Globalization highlight: orbit determination using BeiDou inter-satellite ranging measurements

GPS Solutions - The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is expected to provide a global positioning and navigation service by 2020. To achieve this goal, the new-generation navigation satellites...     

JASON-3卫星星载GPS厘米级精密定轨

针对JASON-3卫星精密定轨方法和轨道精度检核的关键问题,该文利用4d的星载GPS观测数据,基于简化动力学定轨方法实现JASON-3精密定轨,并提出采用内部符合和外部符合两种方法对解算轨道进行检核。通过重叠轨道对比,径向、切向和法向轨道精度均在0.5cm左右;将解算的简化动力学轨道与DORIS国际服务组织(IDS)的多任务精密卫星测高、卫星定轨和定位地面部分提供的SSA精密轨道进行对比,4d的轨道精度在径向、切向和法向分别达1.57～2.18cm、2.22～3.55cm和2.60～2.89cm。实验结果表明,JASON-3测高卫星的简化动力学轨道精度达厘米级,满足该卫星对轨道精度的要求。     

新一代重力卫星简化动力学精密定轨实验分析

针对重力卫星轨道低,大气阻力和太阳光压等较为复杂难以模型化的问题,该文基于简化动力学方法,采用GRACE-FO星载GPS双频观测数据,结合CODE提供的精密星历与钟差产品对GRACE-FO卫星进行精密定轨实验与分析.通过与美国喷气动力实验室(JPL)官方提供的事后精密轨道对比、K波段测距系统(KBR)进行星间测距数据检...     

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.     

不同卫星天线参数对BDS定轨定位精度的影响

论证了BDS精密单点定位时卫星天线参数与卫星轨道、钟差产品保持一致的必要性。基于4组不同卫星天线参数BDS精密定轨RTN3方向内符合精度,GEO卫星均在9.3、18.6、11.5cm左右,IGSO卫星均在1.7、4.2、2.7cm左右,MEO卫星均在2.1、5.1、4.8cm左右,在R方向的差异小于5mm,在TN方向的差异最大为2.4cm;定轨结果与GFZ的事后精密产品比较,RTN3方向外符合精度差异较明显,排除GEO卫星因定轨策略与GFZ差异较大的因素,IGSO和MEO外符合精度ESA和WHU相近,RTN3方向均在10cm以内,各分量上优于IGS和EST 1~10cm,其中TN方向差异最显著。在保持BDS PPP使用的卫星天线参数与卫星轨道、钟差产品一致的前提下,4组卫星天线参数定位精度相近,其中静态定位最后一个历元水平和高程方向坐标偏差均在5cm以内,动态定位收敛后坐标偏差RMS水平方向在10cm以内、高程方向在15cm以内;使用ESA和WHU天线参数动态定位平均收敛时间在46min左右,IGS和EST天线参数动态定位平均收敛时间在56min左右,略差于基于GFZ事后产品的收敛时间,其平均收敛时间在34min左右。     

基于平方根推广卡尔曼滤波的星载GPS定轨

本文探讨了利用星载GPS数据实现平方根推广卡尔曼滤波(SR-EKF)定轨的方法,采用SR-EKF对两颗GRACE卫星进行了定轨试验计算,并将计算结果与Bernese5.0的计算结果进行了比较,比较分析表明:采用SR-EKF方法进行GRACE卫星定轨可以得到优于10cm的定轨精度;经验力参数可以平衡几何观测信息和动力模型信息,但增大了观测异常对定轨结果的影响;对位置和速度进行噪声补偿可以减弱观测异常对定轨结果的影响,但有可能使轨道出现系统性偏差。     

Precise orbit determination of the Sentinel-3A altimetry satellite using ambiguity-fixed GPS carrier phase observations

The Sentinel-3 mission takes routine measurements of sea surface heights and depends crucially on accurate and precise knowledge of the spacecraft. Orbit determination with a targeted uncertainty of less than 2 cm in radial direction is supported through an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite instrument, and a complementary laser retroreflector for satellite laser ranging. Within this study, the potential of ambiguity fixing for GPS-only precise orbit determination (POD) of the Sentinel-3 spacecraft is assessed. A refined strategy for carrier phase generation out of low-level measurements is employed to cope with half-cycle ambiguities in the tracking of the Sentinel-3 GPS receiver that have so far inhibited ambiguity-fixed POD solutions. Rather than explicitly fixing double-difference phase ambiguities with respect to a network of terrestrial reference stations, a single-receiver ambiguity resolution concept is employed that builds on dedicated GPS orbit, clock, and wide-lane bias products provided by the CNES/CLS (Centre National d’Études Spatiales/Collecte Localisation Satellites) analysis center of the International GNSS Service. Compared to float ambiguity solutions, a notably improved precision can be inferred from laser ranging residuals. These decrease from roughly 9 mm down to 5 mm standard deviation for high-grade stations on average over low and high elevations. Furthermore, the ambiguity-fixed orbits offer a substantially improved cross-track accuracy and help to identify lateral offsets in the GPS antenna or center-of-mass (CoM) location. With respect to altimetry, the improved orbit precision also benefits the global consistency of sea surface measurements. However, modeling of the absolute height continues to rely on proper dynamical models for the spacecraft motion as well as ground calibrations for the relative position of the altimeter reference point and the CoM.     

经验加速度补偿对HY-2A卫星精密定轨的影响

针对HY-2A卫星定轨中存在系统误差的问题,该文提出了加入经验加速度补偿系统误差。为了获得HY-2A卫星的高精度轨道,采用星载DORIS距离变率数据探索了经验加速度对定轨精度的影响。探讨了1d、3d和7d作为经验加速度周期的定轨精度差异,分析了3d作为经验加速度周期时在径向、法向和切向3个方向设置经验加速度对定轨精度的不同影响。研究结果表明:HY-2A卫星在径向和切向不存在系统误差,而在法向存在系统误差,因而在法向设置经验加速度进行力学模型补偿能够取得较好的定轨结果;3d作为经验加速度的补偿周期较为合适,不仅能够减少解算参数个数,缩短计算时间,而且径向定轨精度可达到1.00cm,满足HY-2A卫星精密定轨需求。     

基于星载GPS双频P码的低轨卫星综合定轨方法研究

由于重力场精化、大气探测、海洋测高等科学研究的需要,低轨卫星得到了迅速发展。精密轨道确定是低轨卫星科学任务顺利完成的前提。本文系统分析了基于星载GPS接收机双频P码非差观测值的低轨卫星定轨方法的原理及数学模型,并用CHAMP卫星的实测观测值对各种定轨方法进行了验算,以分析研究各种不同定轨方法的定轨精度。结果表明简化的动力学定轨精度较高,定轨精度在2dm左右;动力学定轨结果最差,在几m左右;而几何法及简化几何法定轨精度相当,约1m左右,定轨精度介于动力学及简化动力学定轨精度之间。