Results of the GPS JPO's GPS Performance Baseline Analysis: The GOSPAR Project*

Abstract

The GPS Operational Control System (OCS) Performance Analysis and Reporting (GOSPAR) project was initiated by the GPS Joint Program Office (JPO) to establish an in-depth definition of current GPS Precise Positioning Service (PPS) performance characteristics. This paper provides a description of the key findings of the GOSPAR project to date. Specifically, the following topics are addressed: project overview, performance metric review, how GPS is doing, why GPS is doing so well, and bottom line to users. The results of the GOSPAR project have established a GPS performance baseline and set the stage for development of the next-generation GPS OCS. The next-generation OCS has as an objective to reduce GPS PPS user range errors (UREs) to 1.5 m root mean square (RMS) or better.