Abstract
The geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites of the Beidou navigation satellite system are maneuvered frequently. The broadcast ephemeris can be interrupted for several hours after the maneuver. The orbit-only signal-in-space ranging errors (SISREs) of broadcast ephemerides available after the interruption are over two times larger than the errors during normal periods. To shorten the interruption period and improve the ephemeris accuracy, we propose a two-step orbit recovery strategy based on a piecewise linear thrust model. The turning points of the thrust model are firstly determined by comparison of the kinematic orbit with an integrated orbit free from maneuver; afterward, precise orbit determination (POD) is conducted for the maneuvered satellite by estimating satellite orbital and thrust parameters simultaneously. The observations from the IGS Multi-Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Experiment (MGEX) network and ultra-rapid products of the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) are used for orbit determination of maneuvered satellites from Sep to Nov 2017. The results show that for the rapidly recovered ephemerides, the average orbit-only SISREs are 1.15 and 1.0 m 1 h after maneuvering for GEO and IGSO respectively, which is comparable to the accuracy of Beidou broadcast ephemerides in normal cases.
Highlights
During nominal operations, Beidou broadcast ephemerides including satellite orbit and clock information are generated and uploaded regularly by the ground segment of the Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), with an update rate of every hour [1]
Frequent maneuvers are executed for Beidou geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites, generally, about 9 to 15 times per year for each GEO and twice per year for each IGSO, whereas no maneuver was found for Beidou medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites in a one-year period studied [8]
50 stations near the longitude of each GEO satellite were used for its precise orbit determination (POD), and
Summary
Beidou broadcast ephemerides including satellite orbit and clock information are generated and uploaded regularly by the ground segment of the Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), with an update rate of every hour [1]. Due to the equatorial ellipticity of the Earth, the 1:1 orbital resonance effect caused by the commensurable angular motion of geostationary earth orbit/ inclined geosynchronous orbit (GEO/IGSO) satellites and rotational velocity of the Earth can lead to periodic variation and secular evolution of the satellite Keplerian elements. Frequent maneuvers are executed for Beidou GEO and IGSO satellites, generally, about 9 to 15 times per year for each GEO and twice per year for each IGSO, whereas no maneuver was found for Beidou medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites in a one-year period studied [8]. In the vicinity of a maneuver, the Beidou satellite broadcast ephemerides are marked as unhealthy for several hours, and the accuracy of the healthy ephemerides available immediately after maneuvering is lower than that in normal cases
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