Tests of relative vertical offsets for several types of GPS receiver antenna phase centers

The correction for antenna phase center is considered in processing Global Positioning System （GPS） data collected from a network of GPS ultra-short baselines. Compared with the leveling measurements, the GPS results show that the relative vertical offsets for the pairs of GPS receiver antenna phase centers still exist, although absolute calibration of the antenna phase center variations （PCVs） has been considered. With respect to the TPS CR.G3 antenna, the relative vertical offset for the LEI AT504 antenna is 8.4 mm, the offset for the ASH701945C_M antenna is 5.5 mm, and those for the ASHY00936E_C and ASH701945B_M antennas are approximately between 2 mm and -3 mm. The relative offsets for the same type of antennas are approximately 1 mm. By correcting the absolute PCVs, the existing relative offset becomes negligible for horizontal positioning.

Large Spacing Array with Offset Phase Center Elements for Highly Integrated Applications

A scanning and uniform array architecture with large spacing,low complexity and high scalability is presented for high integration massive array applications.It is constructed by offset phase center elements arranged in a uniform and regular way,but its spacing can be larger than that of traditional arrays.An ideal model of the offset phase center element is established and its far-field distribution is derived.To suppress grating lobes,the phase center of any element is designed to be movable without changing its physical position.Using genetic algorithm(GA),a new constraint condition limiting the number of phase center changes is proposed to solve the objective function of the minimum values of grating lobes(GLs)and side lobes(SLs).It is shown that the optimal results can be achieved by two changes of phase centers.A multimode circular patch is developed and designed,and characteristics of the offset phase center are analyzed and verified.A prototype array of 12×12 offset phase center elements is implemented based on multi-mode circular patches.Full wave simulation results of radiation patterns show that the level of grating lobes is suppressed at least 7dB with 1.12λ spacing,while the scanning angle is 20°.

Spaceborne GPS receiver antenna phase center offset and variation estimation for the Shiyan 3 satellite

In determining the orbits of low Earth orbit （LEO） satellites using spaceborne GPS, the errors caused by receiver antenna phase center offset （PCO） and phase center variations （PCVs） are gradually becoming a major limiting factor for continued improvements to accuracy. Shiyan 3, a small satellite mission for space technology experimentation and climate exploration, was developed by China and launched on November 5, 2008. The dual-frequency GPS receiver payload delivers 1 Hz data and provides the basis for precise orbit determination within the range of a few centimeters. The antenna PCO and PCV error characteristics and the principles influencing orbit determination are analyzed. The feasibility of PCO and PCV estimation and compensation in different directions is demonstrated through simulation and in-flight tests. The values of receiver antenna PCO and PCVs for Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment （GRACE） and Shiyan 3 satellites are estimated from one month of data. A large and stable antenna PCO error, reaching up to 10.34 cm in the z-direction, is found with the Shiyan 3 satellite. The PCVs on the Shiyan 3 satellite are estimated and reach up to 3.0 cm, which is slightly larger than that of GRACE satellites. Orbit validation clearly improved with independent k-band ranging （KBR） and satellite laser ranging （SLR） measurements. For GRACE satellites, the average root mean square （RMS） of KBR residuals improved from 1.01 cm to 0.88 cm. For the Shiyan 3 satellite, the average RMS of SLR residuals improved from 4.95 cm to 4.06 cm.

Quality assessment of onboard GPS receiver and its combination with DORIS and SLR for Haiyang 2A precise orbit determination

The GPS,DORIS,and SLR instruments are installed on Haiyang 2A(HY2A)altimetry satellite for Precise Orbit Determination(POD).Among these instruments,the codeless GPS receiver is the state-of-art Chinese indigenous onboard receiver,and it is the first one successfully used for Low Earth Orbit(LEO)satellite.Firstly,the contribution assesses the performance of the receiver through an analysis of data integrity,numbers of all tracked and valid measurements as well as multipath errors.The receiver generally shows good performance and quality despite a few flaws.For example,L2 observations are often missing in low elevations,particularly during the ascent of GPS satellites,and the multipath errors of P1 show a slightly abnormal pattern.Secondly,the PCO(Phase Center Offset)and PCV(Phase Center Variation)of the antenna of the GPS receiver are determined in this contribution.A significant leap for Z-component of PCO up to-1.2 cm has been found on 10 October 2011.Thirdly,the obtained PCO and PCV maps are used for GPS only POD solutions.The post-fit residuals of ionosphere-free phase combinations reduce almost 50%,and the radial orbit differences with respect to CNES(Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales)Precise Orbit Ephemeris(POEs)improve about 13.9%.The orbits are validated using the SLR data,and the RMS of SLR Observed minus Computed(O-C)residuals reduces from 17.5 to 15.9 mm.These improvements are with respect to the orbits determined without PCO and PCV.Fourthly,six types of solutions are determined for HY2A satellite using different combinations of GPS,DORIS,and SLR data.Statistics of SLR O-C residuals and cross-comparison of orbits obtained in the contribution and the CNES POEs indicate that the radial accuracy of these orbits is at the 1.0 cm level for HY2A orbit solutions,which is much better than the scientific requirements of this mission.It is noticed that the GPS observations dominate the achievable accuracy of POD,and the combination of multiple types of observations can reduce orbit errors caused by data gaps and maintain more stable and continuous orbits.