In-flight performance analysis of the navigation augmentation payload on LEO communication satellite: a preliminary study on WT01 mission

ABSTRACT

With the development of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communication constellations, it has become a hot area of research to provide additional navigation augmentation services. Limited by volume, weight, power consumption, and running time, the in-flight performance of navigation augmentation payload remains to be investigated. In this paper, we analyze the data quality of on-board GNSS observation and evaluate the precision of short-arc dynamic Precise Orbit Determination (POD) performance based on the WangTong-01 (WT01) mission. Furthermore, the downlink navigation measurement data of WT01 satellites are analyzed and compared with the GNSS observations. The results show that the average multipath errors of the WT01 on-board GPS L1, L2 and BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) B1, B2 code observation are 0.54, 0.74, 0.65, and 0.58 m, respectively. The short-arc dynamic POD three-dimensional (3D) overlapping accuracy is 7.1 cm. The average multipath errors of downlink navigation signal Z1 and Z2 are 0.81 and 0.80 m, respectively, which at the same order of magnitude as GNSS signals. The maximum Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (C/N₀) value of WT01 downlink measurement data can reach 60 dB Hz, which is much stronger than GNSS and indicates the navigation signals of LEO satellites can meet the basic requirement of navigation augmentation.

KEYWORDS:

• Navigation payload
• in-flight performance
• augmentation
• communication satellites
• LEO

Acknowledgments

The IGS analysis centers are greatly acknowledged for providing the GNSS products. Furthermore, the authors are grateful for the comments and remarks of the reviewers and editors, which helped to improve the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [grant numbers 2017YFB0503402, 2019YFC1511504].

Notes on contributors

Ziqian Wu

Ziqian Wu is a postdoc in State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology. His research interests include satellite precise orbit determination, satellite clock evaluation, and LEO-based navigation augmentation technology. He holds PhD in Astrometry and Astromechanics from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Baoguo Yu

Baoguo Yu is the Director of State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology. His research interests include satellite measurement and control, communication and navigation integration and indoor positioning. He holds PhD in Communication and Information System from the Beijing Institute of Technology, China.

Chuanzhen Sheng

Chuanzhen Sheng is a Senior Engineer in State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology. His research interests include Multi-source fusion positioning, satellite orbit determination and GNSS deformation. He obtained his Ph.D. from the China Earthquake Administration.

Jingkui Zhang

Jingkui Zhang is a Senior Engineer in State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology and a PhD candidate in the China University of Mining and technology. His research interests include PPP-RTK and GNSS time transfer.

Song Xie

Song Xie is a Senior Engineer in State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology. His research interests include navigation augmentation payload and ground monitoring receiver design.

Cailun Wu

Cailun Wu is the Deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Navigation System and Equipment Technology. His research interests include navigation signal design and LEO navigation system design. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Tsinghua University, China.