Early analysis of precise orbit and clock offset determination for the satellites of the global BeiDou-3 system

Eight new-generation BeiDou satellites (BeiDou-3) have been launched into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), allowing for global coverage since March 2018, and they are equipped with new hydrogen atomic clocks and updated rubidium clocks. Firstly, we analyzed the signals for the carrier-to-noise-density ratio (C/N0) and pseudorange multipath (MP) by using international GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Monitoring and Assessment System (iGMAS) station data, and found that B1C has a lower C/N0, and B2a has the same level of C/N0 as the B1I and B3I signals. For pseudorange multipath, compared with the BeiDou-2 satellites, the obvious systematic variation of MP scatters related to the elevation angle is greatly improved for the BeiDou-3 and BeiDou-3e satellites signals. For the signals of the BeiDou-3 satellites, the order of the Root Mean Square (RMS) values of multipath and noise is B3I?<?B1I?<?B2a?<?B1C. Then, the comparison of the precise orbit determination and clock offset determination for the BeiDou-2, BeiDou-3, and BeiDou-3 experimental (BeiDou-3e) satellites was done by using 10 stations from iGMAS. The 3D precision of the 24?h orbit overlap is 24.55, 25.61, and 23.35?cm for the BeiDou-3, BeiDou-3e, and BeiDou-2 satellites, respectively. BeiDou-3 satellite has a comparable precision to that of the BeiDou-2 satellite. For the precision of clock offset estimation, the Standard Deviation (STD) of the BeiDou-3 MEO satellite is 0.350?ns, which is an improvement of 0.042?ns over that of the BeiDou-2 MEO satellite. The stabilities of the BeiDou-3 and BeiDou-3e onboard clocks are better than those of BeiDou-2 by factors of 2.84 and 1.61 at an averaging time of 1000 and 10,000?s, respectively.     

Direct position determination using single moving rotating linear array: Noncoherent and coherent processing

To improve the resolution and accuracy of Direct Position Determination (DPD), this paper investigates the problem of positioning multiple emitters directly with a single moving Rotating Linear Array (RLA). Firstly, the geometry of the RLA is formulated and analysed. According to its geometry, the intercepted noncoherent signals in multiple interception intervals are modeled. Correspondingly, the MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) based noncoherent DPD approach is proposed. Secondly, the synchronous coherent pulse signals are individually considered and formulated. And the coherent DPD approach which aims for localizing this special type of signal is presented by stacking all array responses at different interception intervals. Besides, we also derive the constrained Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) expression for both noncoherent and coherent DPD with RLA under the constraint that the altitudes of the emitters are known. At last, computer simulations are included to examine the performance of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the localization accuracy and resolution of DPD with single moving linear array can be significantly improved by the array rotation. In addition, coherent DPD with RLA further improves the resolution and increases the maximum emitter number that can be localized compared with the noncoherent DPD with RLA.     

An empirical solar radiation pressure model for satellites moving in the orbit-normal mode

We present a family of empirical solar radiation pressure (SRP) models suited for satellites orbiting the Earth in the orbit normal (ON) mode. The proposed ECOM-TB model describes the SRP accelerations in the so-called terminator coordinate system. The choice of the coordinate system and the SRP parametrization is based on theoretical assumptions and on simulation results with a QZS-1-like box-wing model, where the SRP accelerations acting on the solar panels and on the box are assessed separately. The new SRP model takes into account that in ON-mode the incident angle of the solar radiation on the solar panels is not constant like in the yaw-steering (YS) attitude mode. It depends on the elevation angle of the Sun above the satellite’s orbital plane. The resulting SRP vector acts, therefore, not only in the Sun-satellite direction, but has also a component normal to it. Both components are changing as a function of the incident angle. ECOM-TB has been used for precise orbit determination (POD) for QZS-1 and BeiDou2 (BDS2) satellites in medium (MEO) and inclined geosynchronous Earth orbits (IGSO) based on IGS MGEX data from 2014 and 2015. The resulting orbits have been validated with SLR, long-arc orbit fits, orbit misclosures, and by the satellite clock corrections based on the orbits. The validation results confirm that—compared to ECOM2—ECOM-TB significantly (factor 3–4) improves the POD of QZS-1 in ON-mode for orbits with different arc lengths (one, three, and five days). Moderate orbit improvements are achieved for BDS2 MEO satellites—especially if ECOM-TB is supported by pseudo-stochastic pulses (the model is then called ECOM-TBP). For BDS2 IGSOs, ECOM-TB with its 9 SRP parameters appears to be over-parameterized. For use with BDS2 IGSO spacecraft we therefore developed a minimized model version called ECOM-TBMP, which is based on the same axis decomposition as ECOM-TB, but has only 2 SRP parameters and is supported by pseudo-stochastic parameters, as well. This model shows a similar performance as ECOM-TB with short arcs, but an improved performance with (3-day) long-arcs. The new SRP models have been activated in CODE’s IGS MGEX solution in Summer 2018. Like the other ECOM models the ECOM-TB derivatives might be used together with an a priori model.     

A comprehensive study of the 2016 Mw 6.0 Italy earthquake based on high-rate (10 Hz) GPS data

The 2016 M_w 6.0 Italy earthquake is successfully recorded by the near-field 10?Hz GPS and 200?Hz Strong Motion (SM) stations, providing valuable data for this study. A comprehensive study of this earthquake is carried out based on GPS data, which contains coseismic deformations analysis, noise analysis, seismic wave picking, and magnitude determination. The noise of most GPS-derived displacement waveforms can be described as a combination of white noise, flicker noise, and random walk noise after the earthquake occurrence, and the spectral indices vary significantly for most stations, implying that the seismic signals have affected the noise characteristic of GPS-derived displacement waveforms. S-transform is employed to assess the GPS capability to detect the seismic arrival time. The SM station AMT and the GPS station AMAT are in good agreement in seismic wave picking, and the difference is only 1.2?s in the north component, suggesting that the outcome of seismic wave picking using GPS data is reliable. Then, a classic empirical formula is employed to determine the moment magnitude. A robust moment magnitude (Mw 5.90) can be estimated by the nine GPS stations with about 23.9?s. If four GPS stations near the epicenter is chosen to determine the magnitude, it only take 13.0?s to retrieve a reliable preliminary (Mw 5.82) magnitude, which is 5.4?s ahead of nine stations. In addition, Cross Wavelet Transform (XWT) is adopted to measuring the correlation and phase relationship between GPS and SM records. The result of XWT analysis indicates 10?Hz GPS is capable of capturing reliable and accurate coseismic dynamic deformations, as evidenced by the XWT-based semblance being close to 1 between GPS and SM records. The above results confirm the capability of 10?Hz GPS to capture coseismic dynamic deformations, detect seismic arrival time, and determine earthquake magnitude. Moreover, rapid magnitude determination based on 10?Hz GPS data can be regarded as an important supplement to Earthquake Early Warning (EEW).     

Orbit determination and prediction of GEO satellite of BeiDou during repositioning maneuver

In order to establish a continuous GEO satellite orbit during repositioning maneuvers, a suitable maneuver force model has been established associated with an optimal orbit determination method and strategy. A continuous increasing acceleration is established by constructing a constant force that is equivalent to the pulse force, with the mass of the satellite decreasing throughout maneuver. This acceleration can be added to other accelerations, such as solar radiation, to obtain the continuous acceleration of the satellite. The orbit determination method and strategy are illuminated, with subsequent assessment of the orbit being determined and predicted accordingly. The orbit of the GEO satellite during repositioning maneuver can be determined and predicted by using C-Band pseudo-range observations of the BeiDou GEO satellite with COSPAR ID 2010-001A in 2011 and 2012. The results indicate that observations before maneuver do affect orbit determination and prediction, and should therefore be selected appropriately. A more precise orbit and prediction can be obtained compared to common short arc methods when observations starting 1 day prior the maneuver and 2 h after the maneuver are adopted in POD (Precise Orbit Determination). The achieved URE (User Range Error) under non-consideration of satellite clock errors is better than 2 m within the first 2 h after maneuver, and less than 3 m for further 2 h of orbit prediction.     

飞行载荷发展综述

飞行载荷设计是飞行器设计的一个重要组成部分,是连接总体气动设计和结构强度设计的桥梁。本 文从飞行载荷设计所需要遵循的规范、飞行载荷的设计方法、严重载荷选取、飞行载荷的验证等方面对飞行器 飞行载荷设计的发展历程进行了回顾,并对未来飞行载荷的发展方向进行了展望。     

基于连续同伦算法的天基仅测角初定轨方法

要进一步提高天基短弧初定轨的精度,在观测资料精度较高的情况下,仅考虑二体问题是不够的,还应考虑轨道摄动的影响。因此,基于无摄初轨的单位矢量法原理和矢量斜分解方法,给出了考虑摄动的天基仅测角初定轨单位矢量法。针对天基仅测角观测条件方程组求解过程中易出现迭代不收敛或收敛到平凡解的问题,引入连续同伦算法求解观测条件方程组,提出了单星观测方式下的空间目标天基仅测角初定轨方法,并通过数值仿真算例验证了该算法在较大范围的收敛性和数值稳定性。     

基于粒子群算法的极短弧定轨

针对经典的初轨计算方法在极短弧定轨中不适用的情况,建立了一种基于粒子群算法的极短弧(TooShort-Arc,TSA)定轨的计算方法。该方法将问题转化为两个三变量的分层优化问题,采用(a,e,M)作为优选变量,在保持问题维数较低的同时,实现了计算结果和观测资料的解耦。由于实测资料处理中的野值剔除方法不适用于粒子群算法,所以,采用稳健估计法,通过在适值函数中使用最小中值二乘准则,实现了稳健的极短弧计算方法。同时,应用MATLAB计算软件,选用缺省参数实现该算法,以进行数据验证。基于实测数据的数值验证表明,方法对于近圆轨道目标30s以下的弧段仍可以获得有效的结果,10s弧段误差仅为16km。此精度满足后续处理的需要,且方法稳健,具有很高的崩溃点。     

锚固站数量及布局对导航星座自主定轨影响分析

针对导航星座自主定轨中的星座整体旋转问题,采用增设少量地面锚固站的方法可有效解决该问题。通过推导星地距离对卫星轨道升交点赤经的偏导数,证明了星地距离对卫星轨道升交点赤经可观。仅考虑在我国大陆范围内布设锚固站的条件下,仿真分析了锚固站数量以及布局对导航星座自主定轨精度的影响。仿真实验结果表明:采用3个以上的锚固站,即可有效控制星座整体旋转,在14d的仿真时段内卫星自主定轨精度保持4m以内;锚固站数量越多,自主定轨精度越高,但随着锚固站数量的增加,自主定轨精度改善程度越来越小;在保持4个锚固站的情形下,采用不同的锚固站布局方案,自主定轨精度并无明显差别。     

基于光学测角数据的风云四号同步轨道卫星精密定轨

针对风云四号同步卫星的精密定轨和精度评估需求，首先利用地面光学测角数据对FY-4A卫星进行精密定轨，定轨后方位角和高度角的残差rms分别为0.25＂和0.45＂。与基于测距数据的轨道相比，位置精度在有测角数据的弧段内小于50m。进一步联合测角数据和测距数据对FY-4A卫星进行联合定轨，定轨后轨道重叠精度优于15m。利用联合定轨结果评估了基于测距数据的实时轨道产品精度，可以明显发现轨道精度随着测距数据的积累而逐步提高。