LSG 2202: Principles

of Satellite
Positioning
Delivered by
Dr. MAKABAYI BRIAN
Tel: 0702144052
:0784994995
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Course Description:
 The course introduces the basic and fundamental
principles of Global Navigation Satellite Systems
(GNSS) focusing on the Global Positioning System and
its applications in surveying.
 The most important GPS positioning techniques will
be discussed including an analysis of the factors that
affect the accuracy of GPS positioning.
 The course prepares students to plan and carry out
GPS surveys.
Course Objectives:
The course aims to:
 Introduce the basic principles of positioning using
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).
 Discuss the different errors that affect satellite
positioning and their mitigation.
 Present the basic principles of GNSS software and
hardware.
 Provide students with the skills required to plan and
execute GPS surveys.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
 Articulate the fundamental principles of GPS and
other GNSS.
 Identify the different applications of GNSS with
particular emphasis on those applicable in Uganda.
 Plan, manage and execute GPS surveys
Course Content:
History of Satellite Navigation Systems
 Doppler effect and its application in satellite
navigation.
 American TRANSIT system and Russian TSIKADA
system.
 Ranging to satellites.
 Application areas
Course Content: Cont’d
Reference systems, Geodetic datum and
fundamentals of satellite orbits
 Earth-centred and space fixed coordinate systems.
 Geodetic datum; its definition and realisation.
 Satellite orbits; Keplerian and perturbed orbit
Course Content: Cont’d
Introduction to GPS
 GPS space segment
 GPS control segment
 GPS user segment
 GPS signal structure
 GPS Navigation message
Course Content: Cont’d
Errors in GPS
 GPS error sources
 Approximate error budget
 Orbit errors
 Satellite clock errors
 The effect of the atmosphere
 Receiver multipath , noise and phase centre variations
Course Content: Cont’d
Pseudo-range and carrier phase positioning
 Standalone (absolute)
 Differential (relative)
 Measurement differencing
Course Content: Cont’d
Surveying with GPS
 Field equipment and observation techniques
 Planning a GPS survey
 Surveying procedure
 Data processing
Course Content: Cont’d
The future of satellite positioning
 Overview of the other GNSS
 GPS modernization and interoperability
 Advantages and disadvantages of satellite positioning
References:
 Hofmann, W. B., Lichtenegger, H .and Collins, J., 2001. GPS
Theory and Practice, 5th Ed., New York, Springer-verlag Wien,
ISBN 3-211-83534-2.
 Jan V. S., 2008. GPS for Land Surveyors. 3rd Ed., Routledge
Taylor and Francis Group.
 Kaplan, E.D. and Hegarty, C.J., 2006. Understanding GPS:
Principles and applications, 2nd Ed., 685 Canton Street
Norwood, Artech House, Inc.
 Parkinson, B.W. and Spilker, J.J., 1996. Global Positioning
System: Theory and applications Vol.1, American Institute
of Aeronautics and astronautics, Inc. Cambridge
Massachusetts.
 Leick, A., 2004. GPS Satellite Surveying, 3rd Ed., John Wiley
and Sons.
 Uren, J. And Price, W.F., 2006. Surveying for engineers, 4th
Ed., Palgrave Macmillan.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems
Doppler Effect
 Discovered by C.J Doppler in 1842
 Principle-that waves emitted by a moving object as
received by an observer will be compressed if
approaching and elongated if receding.
 Occurs both in sound and electromagnetic
phenomenon, although it takes different forms in
each.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
Doppler Effect Cont’d
 In everyday life, this phenomenon occurs, if for
instance an emergency vehicle with a loud siren
approaches an observer and drives past. As the vehicle
gets closer the pitch (received frequency) rises and as
the vehicle travels away the pitch falls. However, this
perceived change in frequency is not heard by the
driver of the vehicle who hears only a constant pitch.
The relative motion of the vehicle with respect to the
observer causes the apparent variation in the
frequency of the sound of the siren.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
Doppler Effect Cont’d
 The Doppler Effect can therefore be used to determine the
velocity of a car, the expansion velocity of the universe or
the receiver’s position with satellites.
 In satellite Doppler systems, measurements of the Doppler
shift of signals from the satellites are combined with
knowledge of the satellite’s position and velocity to give an
indication of the receiver’s position.
 This Doppler shift is evaluated by comparing the received
frequency to a stable frequency generated in the receiver.
In addition the satellites transmit pre-calculated orbit data
to enable the determination of the satellite position.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
American TRANSIT system
 First operational satellite navigation system
 Developed by the John Hopkins Applied Physics
Laboratory-intended as an aid to submarine
navigation.
 Established by the US Navy in 1959, operationalised
for military use in 1964, released for civilian use in
1967 and phased out in 1996.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
American TRANSIT system Cont’d
System characteristics
i. Orbital height:1075 km
ii. Orbital period:107 minutes
iii. Polar orbits i ≈ 90˚
iv. Two carrier frequencies: f1=150 MHz,f2=400
v. 2-D navigation only
vi. Time interval between fixes:35 to 100 minutes
vii. Accuracy (1σ):200 m....400m
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
American TRANSIT system Cont’d
 System principle-the user determines position by
measuring the Doppler shift of a radio signal transmitted
by the satellite. The user is able to calculate position to
within a few hundred meters as long as the user knows his
altitude and the satellite ephemeris.
 System drawbacks
i. System is 2-D only
ii. The velocity of the user must be taken into account
iii. Mutual interference between satellites restricts the total
number of satellites to five. Thus satellites would only be
visible for limited periods of time.
 History of Satellite Navigation
Systems Cont’d
Russian TSIKADA system
 Russian equivalent to TRANSIT
 Exists since 1965
i. Eight military satellites (TSIKADA-M)
ii. Four civil satellites
 Orbital period:105 minutes
 Inclination i=83˚
 Two carrier frequencies similar to TRANSIT
 Similar accuracy as TRANSIT
 First Soviet satellite Tsyklon (Kosmos 192) launched in
LEO 1967 based on Doppler principle.
Ranging to satellites
 Range measurements can be classified as one-way or
two-way ranging methods. (See diagram below)
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
One –way ranging
 The clocks of the ground station and the satellites are
either in perfect synchronisation or the
synchronisation error can be determined.
 Time of travel (of the signal) from the satellite to the
observer is measured
 The distance () is calculated by multiplying the speed
of light with the travel time of the signal.
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Two-way ranging
 The time of travel is measured with either the clock of
the observer or the clock of the satellite.
 The signal travels from the observer to the satellite
and is reflected back to the observer.
 The distance () is calculated by multiplying the speed
of light with half the travel time of the signal.
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Position determination (2D)
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Position determination (2D)
 Ranging to two satellites
 A measured range to a single satellite defines a circle
on which the user must lie
 The second range also defines a circle
 The user therefore must lie somewhere on the
intersection of the two circles-defines two intersection
points
 Simple knowledge of the user’s approximate position
i.e. near or on the Earth’s surface means that one of
the two points can be eliminated.
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Position determination (2D+clock offset)
 User’s receiver and satellite clocks will not be perfectly
synchronised-the small offset manifests as a small error in the
measured ranges
 Clock offset is unknown hence the two circles have unknown
radius-undefined intersection point.
 Assuming that all ranges are measured at the same exact instant
of time-so receiver clock offset is common to all ranges implying
that all the ranges will be uniformly short or long by the same
amount.
 Hence a third satellite can be used to resolve the clock offset
 By adjusting the radii of circles from each of the satellites
(common amount) until all circles intersect at the same point.
 This common amount is therefore the receiver clock offset.
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Position determination (3D)
 In the 3D case the signals propagate in the form of
spheres instead of circles
 2 satellites means 2 spheres which intersect at a circle
(see the diagram)
 3 satellites -3 spheres which intersect at a point.
Considering the receiver clock offset means that a
fourth satellite is needed
Ranging to satellites Cont’d
Reference Systems
Reference system
 Set of prescriptions & conventions together with the
modelling required to define at any time a triad of
coordinate axes.
 Defines the origin & the orientation of the
fundamental planes or axes of the system
Conventional reference system
 A reference system where all models, numerical
constants and algorithms are explicitly specified.
Reference Systems Con’d
Reference Frame
 Realisation of the reference system by means of
coordinates of definite points that are accessible
directly by occupation or by observation i.e. practical
realization of a reference system
The space fixed and the Earth
fixed systems
Space fixed, conventional inertial reference system (CIS)
 For description of the orbits of the satellites
 In this system
 The origin is at the centre of mass of the earth
 Its inertial i.e. the equations of motion of an earth-orbiting
satellite can be modelled as if the CIS were unaccelerated.
 The xy-plane coincides with the equatorial plane
 +x-axis is permanently fixed in a particular direction relative to
the celestial sphere (points to the vernal equinox at a certain
epoch)
 +z-axis is normal to the xy-plane in the direction of the north
pole
 +y-axis completes a right-handed coordinate system
The space fixed and the Earth
fixed systems Cont’d
Earth-fixed, conventional terrestrial reference system
 For the positions of the observation stations and for
description of results from satellite Geodesy
 In this system
 Origin should be fixed to the geocenter
 xy-plane is coincident with the Earth’s equatorial plane
 +x-axis points in the direction of the 0° longitude
 +y-axis points in the direction of 90°E direction
 The x- and y-axes rotate with the Earth and no longer
describe fixed directions in inertial space
 Z-axis is normal to the equatorial plane in the direction of
the geographical north pole (coincides with the rotational
axis of the Earth)
Basic coordinate systems
Geographical (Geodetic) Coordinates
Basic coordinate systems Cont’d
Geographical (Geodetic) Coordinates Cont’d
 Geodetic latitude (φ): the angle between the ellipsoid
normal through P and the equator. (-90° ≤ φ ≤ +90° or
90°S ≤ φ ≤ 90°N)
 Geodetic longitude (λ) : the angle in the equatorial
plane between the zero meridian and the meridian of
P (-180° ≤ λ ≤ +180° or 180°W ≤ λ ≤ 180°E )
 Ellipsoidal height (h) : the distance along the normal
from the surface of the ellipsoid to Point P
Basic coordinate systems Cont’d
Cartesian Coordinates
Basic coordinate systems Cont’d
Cartesian Coordinates Cont’d
 Referring to the diagram above :
 The cartesian axes (XYZ) form a right-handed orthogonal system
 The origin lies at the ellipsoid centre
 The XZ-plane defines the zero meridian
 The XY-plane defines the equator
 In the case of a geocentric (earth-centred) ellipsoid :
 The origin of the cartesian system also coincides with the earth's
centre of mass
 The Z-axis passes through the Conventional International
Origin (CIO) as defined by the International Earth Rotation
Service (IERS)
 The X-axis lies in the zero (Greenwich) meridian also as defined
by the IERS
Basic coordinate systems Cont’d
Map Grid Coordinates
 UTM coordinates can be derived from latitudes and longitudes
on any geodetic datum
 The UTM is a conformal projection and has the following
features.
 Zones are 6° wide (in longitude)
 The true origin of each zone is the intersection of the central
meridian with the equator
 A false origin is introduced to ensure grid coordinates are always
positive
 In the Southern Hemisphere, coordinates are related to the false
origin by adding (5x105, 1x107) to east and north respectively
 The central scale factor (along the central meridian) is k0=
0.9996
Geodetic datum
 Describes the relationship of coordinate systems for an
ellipsoidal model of the Earth with the real earth i.e.
mechanism through which the relationship between the
ellipsoid and the geoid is defined.
 Classically, a geodetic datum was defined by choosing an
ellipsoid that best fits the local geoid and then defining the
position and orientation of this ellipsoid at a chosen point
which would become the datum origin (sometimes called
the fundamental point). At this point, the geoid-ellipsoid
separation (N) and the alignment of the ellipsoidal normal
were usually selected as zero for the separation and parallel
to the gravity for the normal. In other words the
astronomic coordinates were equal to the geodetic
coordinates.
Definition of a Geodetic datum
 Datum definition involves the design of the datum before
its realisation
 It establishes the size and shape of the reference ellipsoid
 It also establishes the location of the ellipsoid in 3D space
and the orientation of its axes
 Thus datum definition involves:
 Size (a-semi-major axis)
 Shape (1/f, f=flattening)
 Location (regional or geocentric)
 Orientation
 of the geodetic reference ellipsoid
Realisation of a geodetic datum
 Realisation turns the design into an accessible datum
available to users
 Realisation typically follows these steps:
 Monumentation
 Placing points or reference stations
 Observation
 Interconnecting points by measurement
 Computation
 Establishing coordinates from observations via Least
Squares adjustment
 Publication
 Making coordinates available to users
World Geodetic System 1984
 A global reference frame maintained by the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) –
 http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/
 The defining parameters and positioning of the
WGS84 ellipsoid provide for a “best-fit” to the geoid
on a global scale
 WGS84 is geocentric (earth-centred)
 Except for a minor (and insignificant) difference in
the flattening, the WGS84 ellipsoid is identical to
GRS8O as used by the civilian geodetic community
World Geodetic System 1984
 Parameters for the WGS84 ellipsoid are:
 a=6378137.0 m
 f = 1/298.257 223 563
 b = 6356 752.314 m
 e2= 0.006 694 379 990 13
 The most recent realisation of WGS84 -WGS84 (G1150) —
was computed using data collected on February 14-28, 2001
 15 days of GPS pseudo-range and carrier phase data from
26 stations was used
 6 Airforce stations (incl. 5 OCS stations)
 11 NGA/NIMA stations
World Geodetic System 1984
 9 supplementary (IGS) stations
 The G1150 solution yielded coordinates accuracies of ±1
cm (1σ) when compared to ITRF2000 coordinates
 ‘G’ — the solution was based on GPS data ‘1150’— the
GPS week when the solution was officially adopted
(January, 2002)
 The solution has been aligned to ITRF2000 @1997.0
by constraining the coordinates of 49 IGS stations
International Terrestrial
Reference Frame (ITRF)
 A realisation of the International Terrestrial Reference
System (ITRS)
 Established and maintained by the International
Earth Rotation Service (IERS)
 ITRF comprises sets of station coordinates and
velocities derived from space geodetic techniques such
as
 Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)
 Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR)
 Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR)
International Terrestrial
Reference Frame (ITRF)
 GPS (added in 1991)
 Doppler Orbitography and Radio Positioning
Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) (added in 1994)
 IERS has produced regular ITRF solutions since 1988
 The most recent, ITRF2008, was released in May
2010http://itrf.ensg.ign.fr/
 Details on the activities of the IERS and work being
done on computing new ITRF solutions can be found
at:
 http://hpiers.obspm.fr/
Fundamentals of satellite orbits
Orbit motion is a function of:
 earth’s gravitational attraction
 sun and moon’s gravitational attraction
 solar radiation pressure
 atmospheric drag (low orbits only)
Fundamentals of satellite orbits
Cont’d
For normal (Keplerian) orbits:
Assumptions
 Earth is a point mass (radial gravity)
 satellite mass is negligible
 satellite travels through a vacuum (no atmospheric
drag or solar radiation)
 No sun, moon or other external gravitational fields
Fundamentals of satellite orbits
Cont’d
Keplerian orbits also satisfy Kepler’s Laws of Orbital
motion
 The orbit is elliptical, in a plane passing through the
Earth’s centre of mass, which is at one of the foci of the
ellipse
 The radius vector from the mass centre to the satellite
will sweep out equal areas of the ellipse in equal time
 The cube of the ratio of the two semi-major axes of the
orbital ellipses of any two satellites is equal to the
square of the ratio of the two corresponding orbital
periods
 Keplerian orbital elements
 Semi-majoraxis (a) and eccentricity (e) -
determine the size and shape of the orbital
ellipse.
 The orientation of the orbital plane relative
to the fixed stars is determined by
 Inclination (i) defined as the angle
between the orbital plane and the earth’s
equatorial plane.
 Right ascension of the ascending note (Ω)
defined as the angle measured in the
earth’s equatorial plane between a
reference direction in space pointing to the
vernal equinox (i.e. the direction
determined by the intersection of the
equatorial plane of the earth with the
plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun)
and the ascending node (the point on the
satellite’s orbit where it crosses the
equatorial plane moving in the northerly
direction).
 Keplerian orbital elements Cont’d
 The orientation of the ellipse in the
orbital plane is defined by a single
parameter
 Argument of perigee (ω) defined as
the angle in the plane of the orbit
between the ascending node and the
perigee. The argument of perigee is
measured in the direction of motion
of the satellite.
 The sixth element specifies the
position of the satellite in the orbit
at a given epoch
 The true anomaly (ν) defined as the
angle measured in the orbital plane
between the perigee and the satellite
position at the specified instant.
Perturbed orbits
 Normal orbits are fixed in space and are defined by the
Keplerian elements
 Perturbed orbits take into account the fact that the
earth is not a uniform sphere and that forces other
than the earth’s gravitational pull act on the satellite.
These forces include
 Non-central gravitational force
 Gravitational attractions of the sun and moon
 Solar radiation pressure
 Because of the high accuracy required of GNSS the
above effects cannot be ignored in orbital prediction
Perturbed orbits Cont’d
 The broadcast
ephemeris consists of
16 parameters which
permit the location
of a satellite to be
computed for a given
time
 These parameters are
listed in the
following table:
Time systems
Four basic types of time systems in use
Sidereal time
 Time scale defined by Earth’s rotation with respect to the
celestial sphere
 Defined as the hour angle of the vernal equinox i.e. represents
the rotation of the Earth with respect to the celestial sphere and
reflects the actual rotation rate of the Earth plus effects due to
precession and nutation of the equinox
 Apparent sidereal time (AST)-hour angle of the true current
vernal equinox
 Mean sidereal time (MST)-hour angle of the mean vernal
equinox
 Fundamental unit is mean sidereal day
 1 sidereal day =24 sidereal hours =86400 sidereal seconds
Time systems Cont’d
Universal time
 Time scale defined by Earth’s rotation with respect to
the mean sun
 Used for general civilian time keeping
 Based on the diurnal motion of the sun
 Mean solar time due to non-uniformity of sun’s
motion
 Universal time is therefore defined as mean solar time
on the Greenwich meridian
Time systems Cont’d
Dynamic time
 Time scale defined by the time variable in the equations of
motion describing the dynamics of the solar system
 Dependent on the gravity potential
 In theory most uniform time scale –general relativity
theory
 Terrestrial dynamic time (TDT)- dynamic time scale of
geocentric ephemerides of bodies in the solar system
 Barycentric dynamic time- dynamic time scale of
barycentric ephemerides of bodies in the solar system
 BarycentreThe center of mass of two or more bodies,
usually bodies orbiting around each other, such as the
Earth and the Moon.
Time systems Cont’d
Atomic time
 Time scale defined by the number of oscillations in
the energy states of the cesium-133 atom
 International Atomic Time (TAI) realized by the BIPM
which combines data from high-precision atomic
clocks around the world in order to maintain the SI-
second scale as closely as possible
Relationship between the
different time scales
 TDT=TAI+32.184 s
 UTC=TAI-n*(1s) where n represents an integer
constant that changes now and then (1st January or
July) by a leap second
 GPST=TAI-19s
INTRODUCTION TO GPS
 NAVSTAR GPS
 Navigation System with Time and Ranging Global
Positioning System
 Designed primarily for military applications (US- DoD)
 Limited civilian access –no responsibility
 Provides 3D global coverage 24 hours a day, regardless of
weather (minimum of 4 satellites visible at all times)
 Original developments began in 1973. First satellite
launched in February 1978
 Full Operational Capacity (FOC) reached in July 1995
 GPS modernization programme announced by Vice
President Al Gore in March 1995
INTRODUCTION TO GPS Cont’d
 The full system is broken into three components:
 Space segment-the satellite
 Control segment-system management
 User segment-Military and civilian
Space segment
 21 satellites plus 3 active spares (24 total)
 Near circular orbits of radius 26,000 km
 Satellite altitude of approx. 20,200 km
 Orbital period of 11h 58m (1/2 sidereal day)
→ Repeated satellite geometry approx. 4 minutes earlier
each day
 Six orbital planes (A-F) inclined at 55° to the equatorial
plane and separated by 60° in right ascension
 4 satellite per orbital pane
 Five types of satellite:
 Block I development (SVN 13-21)
 Block II /IIA production (SVN 22-40)
 Block IIR/IIR-M replenishment (SVN 41-62)
 Block IIF follow-on (2007 onward)
 Block III (2013 onward)
Space segment Cont’d
 Block II satellite details:
 Design life 7.5 years
 Two solar collectors each 7.2 m2
 Weight 850kg
 Two caesium and two rubidium frequency standards (clocks) with
accuracy of 1 X 10-13
 Propulsion system for orbit maneuvres and positional stabilization

 Two numbering schemes are used to identify individual

satellite:
 SVN or NAVSTAR number – based on launch sequence
 PRN (pseudo random noise) or SVID (space vehicle
identification) number based on orbit arrangement and
the PRN segment allocated to the satellite
Signal Structure Cont’d
 Two sinusoidal L – band carriers (L1 and L2) are derived from an
on – board oscillator
 C/A -code: Coarse acquisition code available to civilian (non –
authorized) users
 P-Code: Precise (protected) code restricted to military
(Authorized) users
 The L1 and L2 carriers are modulated with the pseudo-random
noise (PRN) codes
 The C/A-code is modulated only on to the L1 carrier
 The P-code is modulated on to both L1 and L2
 Both PRN codes consist of a seemingly random sequence of
zeros and ones hence pseudo – random noise.
 However, the code sequences are known exactly (unambiguous)
 The codes provide the basis of unique satellite identification and
real-time range measurements to the satellites.
The Standard Positioning Service
(SPS)
 Based on the use of the C/A-code
 Intended for civilian users (non- restricted access)
 Each satellite has its own C/A-code to allow unique,
rapid satellite identification.
 C/A –code frequency is 1.023 MHz- corresponding to a
chipping rate of 1.023 million bits per second (Mbps)
 The code repeats itself every millisecond and has an
effective wave length of about 300m.
 Up until May 1, 2000, the C/A-code was subject to
Selective Availability (SA) – deliberate degradation of
the positioning accuracy.
The Precise Positioning Service
(PPS)
 Based on the use of the P-code
 Intended for military (authorized) users
 P-code frequency is 10.23 MHz – corresponding to a
chipping rate of 10.23 Mbps
 The code repeats itself every 266 days and has an
effective wave length of about 30 m.
 Each satellite is assigned a unique 7 –Day segment of
the P-code
 The P-code is encrypted by the W-code to prevent
unauthorized access – anti spoofing (AS)
 The encrypted P-code is the Y-code
THE SATELLITE MESSAGE
 A 50 bps data stream superimposed on the C/A and the P-
codes.
 The satellite message is divided into 30 second frames
(1500 bits /frame)
 Each frame is divided into 5 sub –frames of 6 seconds each
(300 bits / sub- frame)
 With a constellation of 24 satellites, 12.5 minutes is
required to receive the entire satellite message.
 User Range Accuracy (URA) is a statistical indicator of the
GPS ranging accuracy obtainable with a specific signal and
SV.
Satellite Message Cont’d
 Satellite clock correction parameters: Allow the
satellite clock to be adjusted to GPS (System) time.
They are the parameters of a 2nd order polynomial.
 Ionospheric model parameters: For single
frequency users to apply a correction for Ionospheric
delay.
 Broadcast ephemeris: A set of 16 parameters
allowing precise SV location to be computed as a
function of time (Keplerian orbital elements).
 Almanac: Parameters for computation of approximate
position of all other satellites and the approximate
clock correction parameters for these satellites.
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY (SA)
 Intended C/A-code point positioning accuracy was: ±100m
 Actual accuracy achieved was: ± 20 – 40m
 SA introduced as DoD policy in March 1990 to degrade
accuracy for non-authorized users
 SA removed May 1, 2000
 SA consisted of two components:
 δ-process dithering satellite clocks
 Errors were introduced into the fundamental frequency of
the onboard oscillator
 The result was errors in the calculation of signal transmit
time  errors in satellite range.
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY (SA)
Cont’d
 ε-process: downgrading broadcast ephemeris
 Orbit information in the satellite massage was truncated-less
accurate
 The result was errors in the computed satellite position 
errors in receiver position
 DoD policy on accuracy under SA was :
 ±100m horizontal
 ±150m vertical
 At 95% probability level
 At 99.90% probability level, accuracy limits under SA were:
 ±300m horizontal
 ±500m vertical
 Level of SA could be varied on each SV
Anti – Spoofing (AS)
 Point positioning accuracy with the P-Code is ±5m or even
better.
 The intention of AS is to restrict access to the P-code to
authorized users only
 Access is restricted through encryption of the P-code.
 The P-code is encrypted with the W-code to give the Y-
code
 Encrypting the P-code, prevents adversaries from sending
out GPS- look –alike signals thereby causing users to mis-
position themselves
 AS fully implemented in January 1994
 Can be turned on or off on each SV
CONTROL SEGMENT
 Specific functions of the control segment:
 to monitor satellite orbits
 to monitor and maintain satellite health
 to maintain GPS Time
 to predict satellite ephemerides and clock parameters
 to update satellite navigation messages
 to command small manoeuvres of satellites to
maintain orbit, and relocations to compensate for
failures, as needed
The control segment consists of :
 Master Control Station (MCS) at Schriever (formerly
named Falcon)Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
 Six worldwide Monitor Stations: Colorado Springs, Hawaii,
Kwajalein, Ascension Island, Cape Canaveral and Diego
Garcia.
 In 2005, this network was expanded to include six stations
operated by the National Geospatial Agency (NGA) of the
DoD: Washington, D.C., United Kingdom, Argentina,
Ecuador, Bahrain and Australia.
 Three Ground Control Stations for uplinking data to the
satellite: Kwajalein, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia.
The Monitor Stations
 Each monitor station has a number of precise caesium
time standards (clocks)
 Signals from all GPS satellites in-view are received and
ranges are computed every 1.5 seconds
 15-minute smoothed range data and metrological data
are transmitted to the MCS
The master Control Station;
 Collects and processes tracking data to compute
satellite ephemeris and clock parameters
 Also carries out satellite control such as orbit
manoeuvres
The Ground Control Station
 Provide the communication links to the satellites
 Receive orbit and clock data from the MCS which is
uploaded to the satellites
 Uploading occurs once or twice per day
 At least three contacts per day are possible between
control segment and satellites
BROADCAST VERSUS PRECISE
EPHEMERIS:
 The small number and geographical distribution of
the monitor stations limits the accuracy of the orbit
parameter.
 Civilian tracking networks such as IGS (international
GPS Service) offer a variety of precise ephemeris
products for high-precise applications
 The following table compares the broadcast and the
IGS precise ephemeris products
 BROADCAST VERSUS PRECISE
EPHEMERIS: Cont’d
Orbit Type 3D accuracy (m) Clock accuracy Latency updates
nsec (m)

Broadcast 2.00 7.0 (2.10) Real-time

Ultra-rapid 0.10 5.0 (1.50) Real-time 4 times a day

(predicted)

Ultra-rapid <0.05 0.2 (0.06) 3 hours 4 times a day

(observed)

Rapid <0.05 0.1 (0.03) 17 hours Once daily

Final <0.05 <0.1 (<0.03) 13 days Once a week

USER SEGMENT
 Consists of both military and civilian users
 Typical information sought by GPS users includes:
 2D or 3D position (X,Y,Z)
 Navigation parameters (position, Velocity, heading)
 Time (t)
 In the positioning category, accuracy can range from ±20m
to 0.1ppm (relative positioning)
 All users need equipment to receive the signals broadcast
by the GPS satellites
 Equipment capabilities vary from handheld receivers
giving ±20m accuracy, to geodetic receivers capable of
±1cm (or better) relative positioning
The GPS receiver
Basic functions of a GPS receiver
 to capture the RF signals transmitted by the satellites
 to separate the signals from satellites in view
 to perform measurements of signal transit time and
Doppler shift
 to decode the navigation message to determine
satellite position, velocity and clock parameters
 to estimate the user position, velocity and time.
Basic receiver design
The GPS receiver Cont’d
 The antenna detects the GPS signals, converts them into
an electric current, amplifies the signal strength and passes
the signal to the receiver electronics.
 Within the signal processor are the receiver channels
which track the satellite signals. Possible channel
configurations include: Parallel tracking, fast-sequencing
and multiplexing.
 The micro-processor controls the receiver’s operation
(including the signal processing), decodes the navigation
message and performs calculations for positions, velocity,
heading, etc.
 The precision oscillator (usually quartz) generates a
reference frequency against which the incoming signals are
compared (basis of all measurements)
Receiver types
 Receivers can be classified on the basis of the satellite data they
use:
 C/A – code
 C/A – code and L1 carrier
 C/A – code, L1 and L2 carrier
 C/A – and P – codes, L1 and L2 carriers.
 C/A – and P – codes, L1, L2 and L5 carrier
 Other classifications of receivers include:
 Navigation receiver (C/A – code only).
 Single frequency ( geodetic) receiver ( C/A – codes, L1 and L2
carriers)
 Dual frequency (geodetic) receiver (C/A-code, P-code, L1 and L2
carriers)
 Triple frequency (geodetic) receivers (C/A-code, P-code, L1, L2
and L5)
GPS ERROR SOURCES
 Measurement errors are often categorised as noise or
bias
 Systematic errors (biases) –tend to persist overtime
but can usually be modelled mathematically or
eliminated using appropriate techniques
 Random errors (noise) – quickly varying error that
averages out to zero over a short time interval
depending on the smoothing time of a receiver.
Usually unavoidable
Three sources of error
 Satellite
 Propagation medium (atmosphere)
 Receiver
source effect
Satellite Orbit
clock
Atmosphere Ionosphere
Troposphere
Receiver Clock
Antenna phase centre
Multipath
Noise
 APPROXIMATE ERROR BUDGET
Error Source SPS PPS
Satellite orbit 2.1 2.1

Satellite clock 2.1 2.1

Ionosphere 4.0 1.2

Troposphere 0.7 0.7

Multipath 1.4 1.4

Phase centre 0.0 0.0

Noise 3.0 0.3

UERE 6.0 3.6
 APPROXIMATE ERROR BUDGET
Cont’d
 The combined effect of orbit, propagation, clock errors
and receiver noise, projected onto a line between
receiver and satellite is called the User Equivalent
Range Error (UERE)
 The product of a DOP value by the UERE gives the
expected accuracy of positioning:
 Accuracy = DOP * UERE (m)
ORBIT ERRORS
 Orbit errors are the difference between the predicted and
actual position of a satellite
 They have a major impact on single receiver positioning,
but are significantly reduced for differential positioning
 As a rule of thumb:

 db is the error in baseline length

b is the baseline length
 dr is the orbit error
ρ is the range to the satellite
ORBIT ERRORS Cont’d
Based on the above equation, to achieve a baseline accuracy of ±1cm, the
following orbit errors are permitted:

b (km) dr (m)
0.1 2500
1.0 250
10 25
100 2.5
1000 0.25
Practical problem: Broadcast vs Precise
Using a satellite range of 20,200 km and an acceptable baseline
accuracy of ±1 cm, complete the following table. What
conclusions do you draw?

Ephemeris type Ephemeris accuracy (m) Baseline length (km)

Broadcast 2.0

Ultra-rapid (predicted) 0.1

Ultra-rapid (observed) 0.05

Rapid/Final 0.03
SATELLITE CLOCK ERRORS
 Satellite clocks run fast by 38.5x106 sec/day. This
accounts for 99.6% of the relativistic effects (clock
motion and different gravitational fields)
 Physical synchronisation of satellite clocks to GPS
system time is maintained by the MCS to ≤1
millisecond (10-3 sec)
 Mathematical clock correction parameters are
provided in the satellite message
 Effect of the Atmosphere
 Refraction of GPS signals in the earth’s atmosphere
results in changes to both speed and direction.
Increase in the path length due to bending of the
signal ray is generally insignificant. The effect of the
change in speed of propagation can however result in
pseudo-range measurement error of several meters or
more.
Refraction in a dispersive medium
 If propagation velocity depends on signal frequency,
the medium is dispersive
Effect of the Atmosphere Cont’d
 Dispersion occurs due to electromagnetic interaction
between the electrically charged field of the medium
and the external field of the wave
 Phase velocity (vp) is the propagation velocity of the
phase of a wave with uniform wavelength (e.g. GPS
carriers)
 Group velocity (vg) is the propagation velocity of a
wave group, generated by the superposition of
different waves of different frequencies (e.g. GPS
codes)
 The relationship between group velocity and phase
velocity is given by:
Effect of the Atmosphere Cont’d
 The impact of refraction on phase velocity is of equal
magnitude and opposite sign to the impact on group
velocity

 This finding is particularly important in understanding the

influence of the ionosphere on GPS signals
 Phase velocity in a dispersive medium can exceed vacuum
velocity
 Acceleration of the carriers results in a phase advance
(shortens the carrier range)
 Deceleration of the codes is known as group delay
(lengthens the code range)
 THE IONOSPHERE
 The first part of the atmosphere that the GPS signal
encounters. It extends from about 50 km to 1000 km above
the earth’s surface
 The ionosphere is a shell of negative electrons and
positively charged atoms and molecules
 The charged particles exist due to the impact of the sun’s
ultra-violet radiation
 The free electrons interact with the GPS signals to affect
signal propagation
 The number of free electrons is termed the Total Electron
Content (TEC) i.e. a measure of the number of free
electrons in a column through the ionosphere with a cross-
sectional are of 1 square meter.
 The ionosphere is a dispersive medium (propagation
velocity is dependent on frequency)
 THE IONOSPHERE CONT’D
 The ionosphere is the largest single source of error in GPS
positioning
 Most troublesome effects on the GPS signal are known as group
delay and phase delay
 The effect of the ionosphere on the C/A-code can vary from 1 m
to 100 m depending on:
 time of day
 season
 receiver location
 viewing direction
 solar activity
 state of the earth’s magnetic field
 Consequently the ionospheric delay is usually least between
midnight and early morning and most around local noon or a
little after.
 During the daylight hours in mid-latitudes the ionospheric
delay may grow to be as much as five times greater than it was at
 THE IONOSPHERE CONT’D
 The ionospheric delay is nearly four times greater in
November, when the earth is nearing its perihelion
than it is in July near the earth’s aphelion.
 The ionospheric effects usually reach their peak in
March about the time of the vernal equinox
 Ionospheric effects are a major problem for single
receiver and single frequency GPS users
 Ionospheric range errors cause a consequent position
error
 Range errors caused by the ionosphere are typically
three times greater at the horizon than at the zenith
 THE IONOSPHERE CONT’D
 The average range error is indistinguishable from the
receiver clock offset and will therefore be mostly
absorbed
 Residual horizontal range errors will tend to cancel if
satellites are well distributed in azimuth
 Vertically, residual ionospheric errors will not cancel
because all satellites are above the receiver, thus
causing height errors in receiver coordinates
THE IONOSPHERE CONT’D
Mitigation of the ionospheric effects
 Option 1 — Ignore it and suffer the consequences
 Option 2— Utilise the 8 parameters contained in the
satellite message to correct single receiver observations.
The correction is based on the model of Klobuchar and can
eliminate about 50% of the ionospheric error at mid-
latitudes
 Option 3— Do differential positioning (code or carrier
phase based) to eliminate common ionospheric errors.
This only works for “short” baselines (<20 km approx.)
 Option 4— Use dual frequency data to account for 1st
order ionospheric effects.
 Mitigation of the ionospheric
effects Cont’d
 This is possible because of the dispersive nature of the
ionosphere (dion α 1/f2) i.e. the apparent time delay for
a higher frequency. carrier wave is less than it is for a
lower frequency wave meaning that L1 is not affected
as much as L2
 The 28% separation between the L1 and L2
frequencies facilitates the estimation of the
ionospheric delay meaning that by tracking both
carriers, a dual-frequency receiver has the facility of
modelling and removing not all but a significant
portion of the ionospheric effect.
THE TROPOSPHERE
 The troposphere extends from the earth’s surface to a height of
about 40 km
 The troposphere is known as the neutral atmosphere because
it is non-dispersive for radio waves with frequencies ≤15
GHz
 Thus for GPS signals, tropospheric refraction is independent of
frequency — it affects both carriers and the codes in an identical
way
 Modelling tropospheric delay by dual frequency methods is
therefore not possible
 Like ionospheric errors, residual tropospheric errors mainly
affect station height
 Tropospheric delay is a function of temperature, pressure and
relative humidity
 Typical tropospheric delay is about 2.3 m at sea level in a
standard atmosphere
THE TROPOSPHERE CONT’D
 The tropospheric error has two components:
 Dry component (hydrostatic delay) due to the dry part of the
atmosphere that accounts for about 90% of the total
tropospheric delay
 Wet component due to the water vapour that accounts for the
remaining 1 0% of the total tropospheric delay. It’s variable in
time and space.

 Tropospheric delay depends on the distance travelled by the

signal through the neutral atmosphere and so is a function of
zenith angle
 Tropospheric error may be accounted for by:
 A priori mathematical modelling (using meteorological data)
 Zenith path delay estimation (complex)
 Differential positioning (limited to short baselines)
THE TROPOSPHERE CONT’D
 Common mathematical models to compensate for both
wet and drycomponents of the tropospheric delay include:
 Saastamoinen [Saastamoinen, 1973]
 Modified Hopfield [Goad and Goodman, 1974]
 Differential refraction [Rothacher et al., 1986]
 The main difficulty in accounting for the troposphere lies
in obtaining accurate and representative meteorological
data along the signal path
 It is the wet part of the troposphere that is particularly
difficult to deal with because it depends on the amount of
water vapour in the troposphere.
THE TROPOSPHERE CONT’D
NOTE
 Satellite elevation is a crucial factor in the mitigation of
both ionospheric and tropospheric effects.
 Signals from low-elevation satellites will have longer
distance to travel through the atmosphere than those at
high elevations. These will experience greater ionospheric
and tropospheric delays.
 To overcome these problems, signals from low-elevation
satellites are generally not used by inserting a cut-off or
mask angle in the receiver software to exclude them from
any processing- usually a vertical angle of 15° above the
observer’s horizon is used.
 PHASE CENTRE OFFSET &
VARIATION
 This error is the result of non-coincidence between
the geometric centre and the phase (measurement)
centre of an antenna.
 Must differentiate between phase centre offset and
phase centre variation
 For any antenna, the 3D phase centre offset is
constant, but variation depends on satellite geometry
(azimuth /elevation)
 A dual frequency antenna has different phase centres
for L1 and L2
 PHASE CENTRE OFFSET &
VARIATION Cont’d
 Phase centre offset and variation can be eliminated by
parallel antenna orientation if antennae are identical
 If different antennae are used, antenna calibration
models must be applied
 Calibration data for a wide range of antennae are
available from the NGS antenna calibration web-site
 www.ngs.noaa.gov/ANTCAL/
RECEIVER MULTIPATH
 Multipath errors occur when a satellite signal arrives
at a receiver via more than one path (interference)
 Multipath is caused by reflection of the satellite signal
off surfaces close to the receiver, as shown below
 The direct and indirect (reflected) signals have
relative phase offsets because of the different path
lengths
 The multipath error is frequency dependent, affecting
code measurements more than carrier phase
measurements
 C/A-code pseudo-ranges can be in error by 10-20 m
(and up to 100 m) due to multipath errors
RECEIVER MULTIPATH Cont’d
 The maximum error in a carrier phase measurement
occurs when the reflected signal is shifted 90° (/4)
relative to the direct signal. This introduces a range
error of about 5 cm λ
 In extreme cases multipath can cause a receiver to lose
satellite lock
 Careful site selection is the best way to minimise
multipath errors
 Avoid sites near buildings, fences, water, cars, power
lines etc...
RECEIVER MULTIPATH Cont’d
 The use of ground planes, or choke ring antennae can
physically prevent the reception of reflected signals
 Digital filtering of the observations can sometimes
succeed in detecting and rejecting reflected signals
 Signals from low elevation satellites are more
susceptible to multipath than those from high
satellites
 Multipath errors are repeatable from day to day
 The impact of multipath can be reduced by increasing
observation time
 POSITIONING USING PSEUDO-
RANGES
STAND-ALONE (SINGLE RECEIVER POSITIONING)
 Most commonly performed using the C/A- code (or the P-
code for authorised users)
 Possible using the carrier phase (known as Precise Point
Positioning PPP), but not common and requires
substantial post processing
 C/A-code position solution is available in real-time
 Requires a knowledge of satellite position and the
measurement of signal transit time
 Satellite position is available from the broadcast ephemeris
 POSITIONING USING PSEUDO-
RANGES Cont’d
 Signal transit time is measured by correlating in-
coming code with a duplicate generated by the
receiver
 GPS receivers compare the received timing codes with
a replica code generated within the receiver. These two
codes are out of alignment and the difference between
them (in seconds) is the travel time between the
satellite and the receiver. This time delay is equivalent
to the range between the satellite and the receiver
 This measurement — converted to units of length —
is called the pseudo-rangebecause its contaminated by
a number of errors e.g. atmospheric delay biases and
clock offsets
 POSITIONING USING PSEUDO-
RANGES Cont’d
The Pseudo-range observation equation
 Consider the following statements which define the
time frames used in GPS, and their relationship:
i. A satellite has a precise atomic clock operating in a
satellite time frame. All signals are transmitted
relative to this time frame. A receiver has a less
precise quartz clock operating in a receiver time
frame. All signals are received relative to this time
frame.
 The satellite time frame (t) and receiver time frame (τ)
are related to the “true” GPS time frame (T) by
GNSS developments and
Modernization
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Consists of upgrades to GPS to benefit both civilian (SPS)
and military (PPS) users
 objectives :
 Improve overall accuracy
 Improve integrity for critical users
 Improve signal availability
 The first step was the abolition of SA
 The modernization program promotes civilian exploitation of
the system at no cost to the user while enhancing GPS for
military applications.
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 The major components of the modernization program are:
 New code on L2 for civilian users (L2C)
 1st L2C capable Block IIR-M satellite launched 25
Sept 2005
 Development signal currently available from 10 SVs
 2018-projected to be available on 24 SVs
 Why is L2C important?
i. When combined with L1 C/A in a dual-frequency receiver, L2C
enables ionospheric correction, a technique that boosts accuracy
ii. Faster signal acquisition, enhanced reliability and greater
operating range
iii. Higher effective power---easier to receive under trees and even
indoors
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Addition of a new civilian GPS signal L5 at 1176.45 MHz
 2010---GPS Block IIF
 Development signal---3 SVs
 2021—24 SVs
Features
 Highly protected –ARNS radio band
 Higher transmitted power than L1 C/A or L2C
 Greater bandwidth ---improved jam resistance
Why L5?
 Meet demanding requirements for safety-of-life transportation and other
high performance applications
 Most advanced civilian GPS signal—improved accuracy and a highly
robust service
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Fourth civilian GPS signal---L1C---1575.42
MHz
 2015--- GPS III SVs
 2026---24 SVs

 Why?

 Enable interoperability between GPS and

international satellite navigation systems
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Enhancement to the OCS – Operational Control
Segment (2000-?)
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Enhancement to the OCS (2000-?)
 Monitoring stations (2008) --- 6 to 16– improvement in
the accuracy of the broadcast ephemeris
 Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP)—2007—modern IT
 Next Generation Operational Control Segment (OCX)
 Ability to fully control the new signals

 New M-code on L1 and L2 for military users

 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
GPS MODERNISATION
 Benefits of modernisation
 Less vulnerable to unintentional interference (unlikely to
simultaneously affect L1, L2, L5)
 Improved accuracy from three frequencies (e.g. better
ionospheric modelling)
 Quicker ambiguity resolution
 Improved integrity for civil aviation
 Increased accuracy and reliability for precision landing
systems
 More information on GPS modernization can be found at:
http://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/modernization/
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
QZSS (MICHIBIKI)
 Quasi Zenith Satellite system
 Three-satellite regional time transfer system and enhancement
for GPS
 Designed so that at least one satellite can always be observed
at high elevation angles (>60°) in Japan
 Three inclined geosynchronous orbits, with same ground track
 Compatibility and interoperability with existing and future
modernized GPS signals
 Expected compatibility with Galileo E6 signal
 http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/qzss/index_e.html
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
BEIDOU
 BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
 Nov 2006, China announced that from 2008 BeiDou would offer open
civil service of 10m accuracy
 Global positioning capability by 2020
 Medium Earth orbits (21,550km)
 Some communication capability
 First satellite Compass M-1 launched on April 14 2007
 22 satellites in space
 Current plan is for 35 satellites
 30 medium Earth orbits
 5 Geostationary overlay

 http://www.beidou.gov.cn
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cjicmbU138
 GNSS DEVELOPMENTS
BEIDOU
 THE FUTURE OF GNSS
 GNSS-Global Navigation Satellite Systems
 GNSS encompasses the growing family of satellite based positioning
systems, including
 GPS
 Galileo (European)
 GLONASS (Russian)
 QZSS (Japanese)
 BeiDou/Compass (Chinese)
 Important element- interoperability---the ability of global and regional
navigation satellite systems and augmentations and the services they
provide to be used together to provide better capabilities at the user
level than would be achieved by relying solely on the open signals of
one system.”
 Some important technical issues that arise in terms of integrating various
systems include:
 The need for a unique time system
 The need for a unique reference frame
 The need for frequency compatibility
THE FUTURE OF GNSS
GNSS APPLICATIONS
GNSS APPLICATIONS
GNSS APPLICATIONS
GNSS APPLICATIONS
 GNSS APPLICATIONS

 http://www.zdnet.com/article/gps-for-indoors-the-
smartphone-tech-that-guides-you-inside-big-
buildings/
 http://www.zdnet.com/article/your-phones-gps-is-
about-to-get-a-massive-upgrade/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfQocFsRwE4
The End