A Concise Method for Calibrating the Offset of GPS Precise Satellite Orbit

Abstract

A set of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) satellite orbit and clock offset are an essential prerequisite for precise application. However, abrupt changes in accuracy at the boundaries are prevalent in products provided by international GNSS services, resulting in decreased orbit interpolation precision near the daily boundary. In addition, the effect of this phenomenon is reflected in the deterioration of accuracy and the fluctuations in subsequent applications. In this study, time-weighted and equal-weighted calibrated methods were utilized for adjacent Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite orbits and the orbit variations were then corrected for the clock offset to ensure their consistency. The calibration method is evaluated based on the accuracy and smoothness of post-processing kinematic precise point positioning (PPP) and low earth orbit (LEO) precise orbit determination (POD) near the day boundary. In a variety of scientific applications, the results indicate that the proposed calibration method can effectively reduce the excessive differences near the day boundary between adjacent days. Near the boundary, maximum improvements for post-processing kinematic PPP, dynamic LEO precision orbit, kinematic LEO precision orbit are 41.5%, 9.4%, and 20.5%, respectively.

Keywords

• precise ephemerides
• day boundary discontinuity
• precise point positioning
• low earth orbit precise orbit determination
• GPS