Overview of TDRSS

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) System (TDRSS) for operational tracking and communications support of low Earth-orbiting satellites. TDRSS currently consists of five geosynchronous spacecraft and the White Sands Complex (WSC) at White Sands, New Mexico. The Bilateration Ranging Transponder (BRT) System (BRTS) supports range and Doppler measurements for each TDRS using standard user tracking services. These measurements are used to generate well-determined ephemerides for the TDRSs. TDRSS provides S-band and Ku-band services through the single access (SA) antennas and S-band services through the S-band multiple access (SMA) phased array. TDRSS is capable of supporting coherent range and two-way Doppler tracking as well as noncoherent one-way return-link and one-way forward-link Doppler tracking of user spacecraft. Accurate one-way return-link tracking, which can use SMA, the most available TDRSS resource, requires a stable oscillator onboard the user spacecraft as the source of frequency. Two-way and one-way return-link tracking measurements are used for ground orbit determination for navigation and precise positioning; one-way forward-link tracking is used for autonomous onboard navigation with achievable accuracies better than those of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Precise Positioning System (PPS). This overview will discuss the various tracking and navigation capabilities of TDRSS, as well as many of the operational and research applications that have been conducted for missions such as Landsat-4, Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon (T/P), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), and Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE).     

Precision orbit determination for TOPEX/Poseidon using TDRSS doppler tracking data

Precision orbit determination on the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimeter satellite is now being routinely achieved with sub-5cm radial and sub-15 cm total positioning accuracy using state-of-the-art modeling with precision tracking provided by a combination of: (a) global Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), or (b) the Global Positioning System (GPS) Constellation which provides pseudo-range and carrier phase observations. The geostationary Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) satellites are providing the operational tracking and communication support for this mission. The TDRSS Doppler data are of high precision (0.3 mm/s nominal noise levels). Unlike other satellite missions supported operationally by TDRSS, T/P has high quality independent tracking which enables absolute orbit accuracy assessments. In addition, the T/P satellite provides extensive geometry for positioning a satellite at geostationary altitude, and thus the TDRSS-T/P data provides an excellent means for determining the TDRS orbits. Arc lengths of 7 and 10 days with varying degrees of T/P spacecraft attitude complexity are studied. Sub-meter T/P total positioning error is achieved when using the TDRSS range-rate data, with radial orbit errors of 10.6 cm and 15.5 cm RMS for the two arcs studied. Current limitations in the TDRSS precision orbit determination capability include mismodeling of numerous TDRSS satellite-specific dynamic and electronic effects, and in the inadequate treatment of the propagation delay and bending arising from the wet troposphere and ionosphere.     

Space VLBI: from first ideas to operational missions

The operational period of the first generation of dedicated Space VLBI (SVLBI) missions commenced in 1997 with the launch of the Japan-led mission VSOP/HALCA and is coming to closure in 2019 with the completion of in-flight operations of the Russia-led mission RadioAstron. They were preceded by the SVLBI demonstration experiment with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) in 1986–1988. While the comprehensive lessons learned from the first demonstration experiment and two dedicated SVLBI missions are still awaiting thorough attention, several preliminary conclusions can be made. This paper addresses some issues of implementation of these missions as they progressed over four decades from the original SVLBI concepts to the operational status.     

GPS L5信号捕获方法的研究

L5信号是全球导航定位系统(GPS)新增的一种民用导航信号,它具有码速率更高、码长更长的特点。在星载高动态环境下,采用传统方法捕获L5信号捕获时间过长,因此文章提出了一种匹配滤波结合快速傅立叶变换(FFT)的捕获方法,该方法能够同时搜索码相位与载波多普勒频率,从而加快了捕获速度。理论分析和仿真结果表明,这种捕获方法适用于码长较长、多普勒频移较大的环境,通过对各种码长分段方式的分析比较,文章选出一种最合适的分段参数,能够满足L5信号的捕获要求,最后采用FPGA对该方法进行了硬件设计,验证其硬件可实现性。     

Design of BDS-3 integrity monitoring and preliminary analysis of its performance

With the improvement in the service accuracy and expansion of the application scope of satellite navigation systems, users now have high demands for system integrity that are directly related to navigation safety. As a crucial index to measure the reliability of satellite navigation systems, integrity is the ability of the system to send an alarm when an abnormity occurs. The new-generation Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) prioritized the upgrading of system integrity as an important objective in system construction. Because the system provides both basic navigation and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) services by the operational control system, BDS-3 adopts an integrated integrity monitoring and processing strategy that applies satellite autonomous integrity monitoring and ground-based integrity monitoring for both the basic navigation service and SBAS navigation service. BDS-3 also uses an improved and refined integrity parameter system to provide slow, fast and real-time integrity parameters for basic navigation, and provide SBAS-provided integrity information messages in accordance with Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) specification and dual frequency, multi-constellation (DFMC) specification to support the SBAS signal frequency, single constellation operation and DFMC operation respectively. The performance of BDS-3 system integrity monitoring is preliminarily verified during on-orbit testing in different states, including normal operation, satellite clock failure and satellite ephemeris failure. The results show that satellite autonomous integrity monitoring, ground-based integrity monitoring and satellite-based augmentation all correctly work within the system. Satellite autonomous integrity monitoring can detect satellite clock failure but not satellite orbit failure. However, ground-based integrity monitoring can detect both. Moreover, the satellite-based augmentation integrity system monitors the differential range error after satellite ephemeris and clock error corrections based on user requirements. Compared to the near minute-level time-to-alert capability of ground-based integrity monitoring, satellite autonomous integrity monitoring reduces the system alert time to less than 4 s. With a combined satellite-ground monitoring strategy and the implementation of different monitoring technologies, the BDS-3 integrity of service has been considerably improved.     

新一代卫星导航信号测量性能分析

导航信号的测量性能最终影响系统定位、测速、授时等服务精度, 是系统顶层设计的重要论证内容之一. 结合COMPASS系统新一代卫星导航信号体制框架设计, 分析了各种应用条件下的伪距、载波相位和多普勒测量精度, 并以典型设计参数为例进行了数值计算. 结果表明, 在接收机典型设计参数和工作条件下, 各信号分量均能够实现0.1m的伪距测量精度、0.006周的载波相位测量精度以及0.005m·s-1的多普勒测量精度. 首次给出的针对新信号体制各项测量性能的研究结果可为卫星导航系统信号体制设计、 导航接收机关键参数设计以及卫星导航系统用户测距误差预算等顶层设计提供参考.      

Accuracy assessment of TDRSS-based TOPEX/Poseidon orbit determination

Orbit determination results are obtained for the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon spacecraft by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) using a batch-least-squares estimator available in the Goddard Trajector Determination System (GTDS) to process Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) System (TDRSS) measurements. The GTDS orbit solutions are compared with the definitive Precision Orbit Determination (POD) orbit solutions. The root-mean-square (RMS) solution difference in the radial component is 28 centimeters.     

北斗卫星空间信号故障与监测性能指标定义

卫星导航系统指标分配与论证是指导和约束各大系统方案设计及工程实现的重要依据.完好性和连续性是系统服务性能的关键指标,能否满足用户需求主要取决于其中的空间信号故障和监测性能指标.以用户完好性和连续性要求为设计依据,定义了空间信号故障次数、平均故障率、故障漏检率、虚警率等系统指标与完好性、连续性等风险概率之间的转换关系.针对北斗系统及星座构成特点,按照国际民航组织规定的用户完好性和连续性风险概率需求,分析了不同空间信号故障条件对系统完好性监测性能的指标要求.研究结果可为北斗全球系统可靠性指标论证和设计提供依据和参考.      

X射线脉冲星脉冲到达航天器时间测量

X射线脉冲星脉冲到达时间(TOA)的空间测量是航天器自主导航和用脉冲星钟作航天器时间标准的基础.在简要介绍地面射电观测TOA测量方法基础上,重点研究了X射线脉冲星脉冲到达时间的空间测量方法和算法.讨论了利用X射线脉冲星辐射光子到达时间观测,建立X射线脉冲轮廓的方法;给出了通过观测得到的X射线脉冲轮廓与标准脉冲轮廓比较,精确确定TOA的测量方法和实用算法.讨论了削弱多普勒效应对TOA测量影响的方法.      

The crustal dynamics data information system: A resource to support scientific analysis using space geodesy

Since 1982, the Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) has supported the archive and distribution of geodetic data products acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as well as national and international programs. The CDDIS provides easy, timely, and reliable access to a variety of data sets, products, and information about these data. These measurements, obtained from a global network of nearly 650 instruments at more than 400 distinct sites, include DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), SLR and LLR (Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging), and VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry). The CDDIS data system and its archive have become increasingly important to many national and international science communities, particularly several of the operational services within the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and its observing system the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), including the International DORIS Service (IDS), the International GNSS Service (IGS), the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS), the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS), and the International Earth rotation and Reference frame Service (IERS). Investigations resulting from the data and products available through the CDDIS support research in many aspects of Earth system science and global change. Each month, the CDDIS archives more than one million data and derived product files totaling over 90 Gbytes in volume. In turn, the global user community downloads nearly 1.2 Tbytes (over 10.5 million files) of data and products from the CDDIS each month. The requirements of analysts have evolved since the start of the CDDIS; the specialized nature of the system accommodates the enhancements required to support diverse data sets and user needs. This paper discusses the CDDIS, including background information about the system and its user communities, archive contents, available metadata, and future plans.     

Design and experiment of onboard laser time transfer in Chinese Beidou navigation satellites

High-precision time synchronization between satellites and ground stations plays the vital role in satellite navigation system. Laser time transfer (LTT) technology is widely recognized as the highest accuracy way to achieve time synchronization derived from satellite laser ranging (SLR) technology. Onboard LTT payload has been designed and developed by Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, and successfully applied to Chinese Beidou navigation satellites. By using the SLR system, with strictly controlling laser firing time and developing LTT data processing system on ground, the high precise onboard laser time transfer experiment has been first performed for satellite navigation system in the world. The clock difference and relative frequency difference between the ground hydrogen maser and space rubidium clocks have been obtained, with the precision of approximately 300 ps and relative frequency stability of 10E−14. This article describes the development of onboard LTT payload, introduces the principle, system composition, applications and LTT measuring results for Chinese satellite navigation system.     

SINS辅助GPS跟踪环路超紧耦合系统设计

为了提高GPS(Global Positioning System)在高动态条件下的跟踪性能并为SINS(Strapdown Inertial Navigation System)提供精确、可靠的修正信息,提出了一种SINS辅助GPS超紧耦合导航方案.针对高动态条件下载波跟踪性能不佳的问题,利用SINS速度信息为载波环提供多普勒频率辅助,从而降低了载体动态对载波环的影响.此外,将载波环跟踪误差扩充为组合系统的状态变量,并建立了载波环跟踪误差、伪距率量测误差与惯导误差之间的关系模型,从而消除了引入SINS辅助信息导致的量测相关问题.仿真验证表明:超紧耦合系统不仅能够有效地提高跟踪环路的噪声抑制能力和动态跟踪性能,而且可以显著地改善组合滤波器的误差估计精度.     

Potential of IRNSS/NavIC L5 signals for ionospheric studies

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed an indigenous system named Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) or NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), that consists of 7 satellites and transmits navigation signal in L and S bands. ISRO, for validation of the system, has installed many IGS (IRNSS/GPS/SBAS) receivers scattered over the Indian region. Using preliminary data from two geographically widely separated stations over India, this paper presents the results on studies on parameters of IRNSS signal quality and discusses how these parameters may be used to study the ionospheric behavior over the Indian region. The results show the importance and advantages of using IRNSS data for such studies.     

软件定义的GNSS反射信号接收机设计

分析了导航卫星反射信号的特点,给出了反射信号软件接收机的总体结构及其主要模块,主要包括接收直射和反射信号的天线、射频前端和高速A/D变换器,以及数据处理用的计算机.重点介绍了反射信号处理的基本过程,其中主要讨论了本地反射信号C/A码的生成模式,在此基础上分析了反射信号相关功率的计算方法,并给出了具体的仿真计算实例.设计了反射信号处理的具体实现软件,包括详细的流程图,关键参数和主要函数的定义及用户界面,利用实际采集的数据进行了验证,结果表明所设计的反射信号接收机运行稳定,能根据用户输入的不同参数提供导航卫星反射信号的相关功率输出.     

Progress and Prospects of the Strategic Priority Program on Space Science

In May 2018, the second phase of the Strategic Priority Program on Space Science (SPP II) was officially approved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in view of the significant scientific achievements of the first phase of the Strategic Priority Program on Space Science (SPP I) which includes 4 space science missions:the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), ShiJian-10 (SJ-10), Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) and Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT). Aiming to address fundamental scientific questions, SPP II focuses on two major themes:How the universe and life originate and evolve and What is the relationship between the solar system and human beings. In areas that Chinese scientists have advantages, new space science missions including Graviational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM), the Advanced space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), the Einstein Probe (EP), and Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) have been approved in the framework of SPP II. This paper presents the research highlights of the SPP I, introduces the recent progress of SPP II, and puts forward the prospects for future development.      

Performance assessment of real-time orbit determination for the Haiyang-2D using onboard BDS-3/GPS observations

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers equipped on the Haiyang-2D (HY-2D) satellite is capable of tracking the signals of both the third generation of BeiDou satellite navigation System (BDS-3) and the Global Positioning System (GPS), which make it feasible to assess the performance of real-time orbit determination (RTOD) for the HY-2D using onboard GNSS observations. In this study, the achievable accuracy and convergence time of RTOD for the HY-2D using onboard BDS-3 and GPS observations are analyzed. Benefiting from the binary-offset-carrier (BOC) modulation, the BDS-3 C1X signal includes less noise than the GPS C1C signal, which has the same signal frequency and chipping rate. The root mean squares (RMS) of the noises of C1X and C1C code measurements are 0.579 m and 1.636 m, respectively. Thanks to a ten-times higher chipping rate, the code measurements of BDS-3 C5P, GPS C1W and C2W are less noisy. The RMS of code noises of BDS-3 C5P, GPS C1W, and C2W are 0.044 m, 0.386 m, and 0.272 m, respectively. For the HY-2D orbit, the three-dimensional (3D) and radial accuracies can reach 31.8 cm and 7.5 cm with only BDS-3 observations, around 50 % better than the corresponding accuracies with GPS. Better performance of the BDS-3 in RTOD for the HY-2D is attributed to the high quality of its broadcast ephemeris. When random parameters are used to absorb ephemeris errors, substantial improvement is seen in the accuracy of HY-2D orbit with either BDS-3 or GPS. The 3D RMS of HY-2D orbit errors with BDS-3 and GPS are enhanced to 23.1 cm and 33.6 cm, and the RMS of the radial components are improved to 6.1 cm and 13.3 cm, respectively. The convergence time is 41.6 and 75.5 min for the RTOD with BDS-3 and GPS, while it is reduced to 39.2 and 27.4 min after the broadcast ephemeris errors are absorbed by random parameters. Overall, the achievable accuracy of RTOD with BDS-3 reaches decimeter level, which is even better than that with GPS, making real-time navigation using onboard BDS-3 observations a feasible choice for future remote sensing missions.     

Angles-only relative orbit determination in low earth orbit

The paper provides an overview of the angles-only relative orbit determination activities conducted to support the Autonomous Vision Approach Navigation and Target Identification (AVANTI) experiment. This in-orbit endeavor was carried out by the German Space Operations Center (DLR/GSOC) in autumn 2016 to demonstrate the capability to perform spaceborne autonomous close-proximity operations using solely line-of-sight measurements. The images collected onboard have been reprocessed by an independent on-ground facility for precise relative orbit determination, which served as ultimate instance to monitor the formation safety and to characterize the onboard navigation and control performances. During two months, several rendezvous have been executed, generating a valuable collection of images taken at distances ranging from 50?km to only 50?m. Despite challenging experimental conditions characterized by a poor visibility and strong orbit perturbations, angles-only relative positioning products could be continuously derived throughout the whole experiment timeline, promising accuracy at the meter level during the close approaches. The results presented in the paper are complemented with former angles-only experience gained with the PRISMA satellites to better highlight the specificities induced by different orbits and satellite designs.     

一种超低压超低耗NMOS衬底偏置混频器

使用两对NMOS管和衬底偏置技术,采用SMIC 0.18μm CMOS工艺,为卫星导航双系统兼容接收机的射频集成电路芯片设计了一种超低压、超低耗NMOS衬底偏置混频器(NBBM,NMOS Bulk-Biased Mixer).以其中的GPS系统为例:射频信号、本振信号和中频信号分别为1575.42MHz,1570MHz和5.42MHz.测试表明:在1V电源电压下,驱动差分负载阻抗1000Ω时,混频器消耗电流约为1.37mA,变频增益( G_C )超过2.11dB,输入1dB压缩点( P _in-1dB)约为-13dBm;若加入运放驱动,变频增益可超过14dB,但会带来线性度的降低、功耗以及面积的增加.     

Low-cost precise measurement of oscillator frequency instability based on GNSS carrier observation

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers can be used in time and frequency metrology by exploiting stable GNSS time scales. This paper proposes a low-cost method for precise measurement of oscillator frequency instability using a single-frequency software GNSS receiver. The only required hardware is a common radio frequency (RF) data collection device driven by the oscillator under test (OUT). The receiver solves the oscillator frequency error in high time resolution using the carrier Doppler observation and the broadcast ephemeris from one of the available satellites employing the onboard reference atomic frequency standard that is more stable than the OUT. Considering the non-stable and non-Gaussian properties of the frequency error measurement, an unbiased finite impulse response (FIR) filter is employed to obtain robust estimation and filter out measurement noise. The effects of different filter orders and convolution lengths are further discussed. The frequency error of an oven controlled oscillator (OCXO) is measured using live Beidou-2/Compass signals. The results are compared with the synchronous measurement using a specialized phase comparator with the standard coordinated universal time (UTC) signal from the master clock H226 in the national time service center (NTSC) of China as its reference. The Allan deviation (ADEV) estimates using the two methods have a 99.9% correlation coefficient and a 0.6% mean relative difference over 1–1000 s intervals. The experiment demonstrates the effectiveness and high precision of the software receiver method.     

“嫦娥二号”小行星探测试验定轨计算与分析

嫦娥二号于2012-04-15开展对图塔蒂斯小行星的探测试验,至2012-12-13与图塔蒂斯交会,共飞行243 d,这是我国对小行星的首次探测.因为未安装星载导航设备,CE-2 在小行星探测试验的全过程均基于地基USB（Unified S-Band）与甚长基线干涉测量技术（VLBI,Very Long Baseline Interferometry）测量实现导航.对小行星探测期间的定轨计算及精度分析进行了讨论,对我国新建深空站的测量数据进行了分析.针对交会前最后一次轨道机动后,仅有13 d控后数据的现状,提出了快速轨道重建策略.计算结果表明该策略不仅可以有效改进定轨计算精度,还可以实现轨控速度增量的标定.基于重叠弧段的轨道分析比较表明,单独使用USB长弧数据计算可以获得10 km的定轨精度,综合USB与VLBI数据联合定轨,定轨精度可以提高1倍.