Differential code bias estimation based on uncombined PPP with LEO onboard GPS observations

Differential Code Bias (DCB) is an essential correction that must be provided to the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) users for precise position determination. With the continuous deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, DCB estimation using observations from GNSS receivers onboard the LEO satellites is drawing increasing interests in order to meet the growing demands on high-quality DCB products from LEO-based applications, such as LEO-based GNSS signal augmentation and space weather research. Previous studies on LEO-based DCB estimation are usually using the geometry-free combination of GNSS observations, and it may suffer from significant leveling errors due to non-zero mean of multipath errors and short-term variations of receiver code and phase biases. In this study, we utilize the uncombined Precise Point Positioning (PPP) model for LEO DCB estimation. The models for uncombined PPP-based LEO DCB estimation are presented and GPS observations acquired from receivers onboard three identical Swarm satellites from February 1 to 28, 2019 are used for the validation. The results show that the average Root Mean Square errors (RMS) of the GPS satellite DCBs estimated with onboard data from each of the three Swarm satellites using the uncombined PPP model are less than 0.18 ns when compared to the GPS satellite DCBs obtained from IGS final daily Global Ionospheric Map (GIM) products. Meanwhile, the corresponding average RMS of GPS satellite DCBs estimated with the conventional geometry-free model are 0.290, 0.210, 0.281 ns, respectively, which are significantly larger than those obtained with the uncombined PPP model. It is also noted that the estimated GPS satellite DCBs by Swarm A and C satellites are highly correlated, likely attributed to their similar orbit type and space environment. On the other hand, the Swarm receiver DCBs estimated with uncombined PPP model, with Standard Deviation (STD) of 0.065, 0.037 and 0.071 ns, are more stable than those obtained from the official Swarm Level 2 products with corresponding STD values of 0.115, 0.101, and 0.109 ns, respectively. The above indicates that high-quality DCB products can be estimated based on uncombined PPP with LEO onboard observations.     

Solar cycle effect on temporal and spatial variation of topside ion density measured by SROSS C2 and ROCSAT 1 over the Indian longitude sector

We investigated the diurnal, seasonal and latitudinal variations of ion density Ni over the Indian low and equatorial topside ionosphere within 17.5°S to 17.5°N magnetic latitudes by combining the data from SROSS C2 and ROCSAT 1 for the 9 year period from 1995 to 2003 during solar cycle 23. The diurnal maximum density is found in the local noon or in the afternoon hours and the minimum occurs in the pre sunrise hours. The density is higher during the equinoxes as compared to that in the June and December solstice. The local time spread of the daytime maximum ion density increases with increase in solar activity. A north south asymmetry with higher ion density over northern hemisphere in the June solstice and over southern hemisphere in December solstice has been observed in moderate and high solar activity years. The crest to crest distance increases with increase in solar flux. Ion density bears a nonlinear relationship with F_10.7 cm solar flux and EUV flux in general. The density increases linearly with solar flux up to ∼150 sfu (1 sfu = 10⁻²²Wm⁻²Hz⁻¹) and EUV flux up to ∼50 units (10⁹ photons cm⁻² s⁻¹). But beyond this the density saturates. Inverse saturation and linear relationship have been observed in some season or latitude also. Inter-comparison of the three solar activity indices F_10.7 cm flux, EUV flux and F_10.7P (= (F_10.7 + F_10.7A)/2, where F_10.7A is the 81 day running average value of F_10.7) shows that the ion density correlates better with F_10.7P and F_10.7 cm fluxes. The annual average daytime total ion density from 1995 to 2003 follows a hysteresis loop as the solar cycle reverses. The ion density at 500 km over the Indian longitude sector as obtained by the international reference ionosphere is in general lower than the measured densities during moderate and high solar activity years. In low solar activity years the model densities are equal or higher than measured densities. The IRI EIA peaks are symmetric (±10°) in equinox while densities are higher at 10°N in June solstice and at 10°S in the December solstice. The model density follows F_10.7 linearly up to about F_10.7 > ∼150 sfu and then saturates.     

First results of operational ionospheric dynamics prediction for the Brazilian Space Weather program

It is shown the development and preliminary results of operational ionosphere dynamics prediction system for the Brazilian Space Weather program. The system is based on the Sheffield University Plasmasphere–Ionosphere Model (SUPIM), a physics-based model computer code describing the distribution of ionization within the Earth mid to equatorial latitude ionosphere and plasmasphere, during geomagnetically quiet periods. The model outputs are given in a 2-dimensional plane aligned with Earth magnetic field lines, with fixed magnetic longitude coordinate. The code was adapted to provide the output in geographical coordinates. It was made referring to the Earth’s magnetic field as an eccentric dipole, using the approximation based on International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF-11). During the system operation, several simulation runs are performed at different longitudes. The original code would not be able to run all simulations serially in reasonable time. So, a parallel version for the code was developed for enhancing the performance. After preliminary tests, it was frequently observed code instability, when negative ion temperatures or concentrations prevented the code from continuing its processing. After a detailed analysis, it was verified that most of these problems occurred due to concentration estimation of simulation points located at high altitudes, typically over 4000 km of altitude. In order to force convergence, an artificial exponential decay for ion–neutral collisional frequency was used above mentioned altitudes. This approach shown no significant difference from original code output, but improved substantially the code stability. In order to make operational system even more stable, the initial altitude and initial ion concentration values used on exponential decay equation are changed when convergence is not achieved, within pre-defined values. When all code runs end, the longitude of every point is then compared with its original reference station longitude, and differences are compensated by changing the simulation point time slot, in a temporal adjustment optimization. Then, an approximate neighbor searching technique was developed to obtain the ion concentration values in a regularly spaced grid, using inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation. A 3D grid containing ion and electron concentrations is generated for every hour of simulated day. Its spatial resolution is 1° of latitude per 1° of longitude per 10 km of altitude. The vertical total electron content (VTEC) is calculated from the grid, and plotted in a geographic map. An important feature that was implemented in the system is the capacity of combining observational data and simulation outputs to obtain more appropriate initial conditions to the ionosphere prediction. Newtonian relaxation method was used for this data assimilation process, where ionosonde data from four different locations in South America was used to improve the system accuracy. The whole process runs every day and predicts the VTEC values for South America region with almost 24 h ahead.     

Early morning enhancement in ionospheric electron density during intense magnetic storms

This study reports on ionospheric disturbances that occurred in the early morning hours in the South American–Atlantic sector during a few intense/super storm events. The events were observed at latitudes close to the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) as an unusual intensification of the F region electron density peak at local times when the EIA is not usually developed. All the events were observed at pre dawn-morning hours, under conditions of northward interplanetary geomagnetic field. Large scale traveling ionospheric disturbances that are launched during highly disturbed conditions and/or equatorward surges in the thermospheric meridional winds seem to be the most probable causes of the observed disturbances.     

On the uncertainties in the measurement of absolute (true) TEC over Indian equatorial and low latitude sectors

The Indian sector encompasses the equatorial and low latitude regions where the ionosphere is highly dynamic and is characterized by the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) resulting in large latitudinal electron density gradients causing errors and uncertainties in the estimation of range delays in satellite based navigation systems. The diurnal and seasonal variations of standard deviations in the TEC data measured during the low sunspot period 2004–2005 at 10 different Indian stations located from equator to the anomaly crest region and beyond are examined and presented. The day-to-day variability in TEC is found to be lowest at the equatorial station and increases with latitude up to the crest region of EIA and decreases beyond.     

Estimation of Galactic Cosmic Ray exposure inside and outside the Earth’s magnetosphere during the recent solar minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24

The evidently low solar activity observed between solar cycles 23 and 24 during the years 2008–2010 led to a substantial increase in the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) intensity in comparison with preceding solar minima. As the GCRs consist of highly-ionizing charged particles having the potential to cause biological damage, they are a subject of concern for manned missions to space. With the enhanced particle fluxes observed between 2008 and 2010, it is reasonable to assume that the radiation exposure from GCR must have also increased to unusually high levels. In this paper, the GCR exposure outside and inside the Earth’s magnetosphere is numerically calculated for time periods starting from 1970 to the end of 2011 in order to investigate the increase in dose levels during the years 2008–2010 in comparison with the last three solar minima. The dose rates were calculated in a water sphere, used as a surrogate for the human body, either unshielded or surrounded by aluminium shielding of 0.3, 10 or 40 g/cm².     

2004年11月一次磁暴期间全球电离层TEC扰动分析

利用全球分布的GPS原始观测数据提取的电离层总电子含量(TEC)分析了2004年11月6日至12日期间全球电离层暴的形态特点与发展过程.结果表明,11月8日磁暴主相期间电离层暴以大范围的强烈正暴为主,在11月10日的恢复相,Dst又一次降到最低值前后期间,电离层再次受到很强的扰动,大范围的正暴和负暴交替出现.这次磁暴期间夏季半球的负暴更加强烈,反映出负暴偏向于在夏季半球发生的季节变化特点.另外,磁暴期间,夜晚TEC值普遍比磁暴前的平静期要低,具体是什么机制导致还需要进一步收集数据和分析.      

星敏感器用典型CCD探测器电离总剂量效应研究

用自建的工程单机对星敏感器用核心器件CCD的电离总剂量效应进行了研究,给出了不同辐照剂量下辐照前后图像灰度、标准差等反映CCD拍摄图像质量的参数变化。研究表明：CCD对电离总剂量效应较敏感,辐照会引起输出图像灰度和标准差变大,导致图像质量下降、信噪比降低,最终影响探测器的成像效果。     

光电耦合器件在低地球轨道航天器中的运用评估

不同种类光电耦合器件(光耦)结构工艺对空间总剂量辐射的敏感性存在较大差异,故对其在航天器的使用应区别对待。文章分别对组成常见光耦的LED部分、光电耦合部分以及集成放大电路部分受电离总剂量辐射和位移损伤效应的影响进行分析,比较了光耦各个组成部分和不同工艺的光耦对辐射的敏感度。在地面辐照测试数据基础上,以3种典型光耦为原型,设计在轨验证电路,对器件在辐射环境下的长期工作情况进行了试验验证。结果表明,在适当的参数选择和合理的电路设计下,这些光耦能够满足低地球轨道航天领域的应用需求。     

扩压式双S隐身进气道设计和流场分析

采用扩压式双S隐身进气道能够提高飞行器的隐身特性和综合性能。针对保形短程、高隐身、大偏距的亚音速隐身无人机进气道,以保形入口、中间控制面和出口截面为约束并结合多项式对中心线和面积、截面形状进行控制,实现对保形进口截面形状和弯曲形式复杂的双S隐身进气道的快速设计;在此基础上,研究中心线曲率、面积分布和中间截面形状等参数对进气道性能的影响。结果表明:双S进气道流场特性复杂,第二S弯处顶部的分离和空间二次涡引发的流场畸变的综合控制是设计的重点,通过截面参数约束并结合多项式能够对双S进气道内的流场品质进行控制;在中心线曲率、扩张角和多项式参数等配制上应该朝利于第二S弯流场稳定的方向靠近。