GNSS Signals The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is the standard term used for the worldwide

satellite radio-navigation systems that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. GNSS includes the United States of America s Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia s GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the future Chinese COMPASS system and the future European Galileo. All GNSS systems operate by the basic principle of calculating the user s position by establishing the distance relative to the satellites with known positions. The distance is calculated from the travel time of radio waves transmitted from the satellites. Through the modernization of GPS, the development of Galileo and COMPASS and the reconstruction of GLONASS the aim to have a complete technically interoperable and compatible GNSS will have been achieved. It will be possible for civilians to use the full system without considering the nationalities of any given system in order to promote the safety and convenience of life (GALILEO, 2003; Feng, 2003). Presently the core satellite navigation systems are the GPS and GLONASS. It is impossible to put a single figure on the accuracy of these systems as it depends on several ever-changing factors, many of which affect the ionosphere, the biggest single source of error. They are: position, time of day, season and solar activity (which affect the ionosphere), the number of operating satellites in the constellation and their angular spacing from the aircraft, update of satellite clocks and ephemeris data, reflection from buildings and terrain (multipath) and receiver performance [gnss booklet]. The error budget of GPS is summarized in Table 1. Table 1: GPS error budget [gnss booklet]. Satellite clock 3m Satellite ephemeris 3 m Ionospheric delay 10 m Tropospheric delay 3 m Multipath 3m Receiver noise 1.5 m Total 12 m The accuracy available through these core systems has been found inadequate for precision positioning requirements. Consequently, they have been augmented through integrity monitoring systems in three major ways, namely: Aircraft Based Augmentation System (ABAS) compares navigation solutions received from GNSS systems with information available on-board the aircraft, Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) provide integrity monitoring through data obtained from the ground and transmitting the corrections to an aircraft through a suitable data link. Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) refers to having GEO satellite based GPS compatible navigation payloads transmitting in L1 and L5 bands over a region supported by the necessary ground segment and uplink earth stations. Several SBAS systems have been developed globally to offer regional positioning accuracy solutions. While some are currently fully operational, some are still under development. They include: European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Indian GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation 1

system (GAGAN), the Japanese MTSAT Satellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS) and the US Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). All these systems use frequencies in the L-band of the radio frequency spectrum.

Figure 1: Space based augmentation systems (source: http://www.dlr.de/kn). Each satellite navigation system has specific signal characteristics and through modernization each system attempts to be compatible with the others while also avoiding interference and attenuation between the signals. Table 2 provides an overview of the signals currently being used by GNSS systems. Table 2: GNSS signals currently in use. GPS: L1 - (1575.42MHz)(C/A, P(Y), L1M), L2 - (1227.60MHz)(P(Y), L2C, L2M), L3 (1381.05MHz)(Used by NUDET), L5 (1176.45MHz) (New civilian (safety-of-life) signal) GLONASS: L1 - (1602.2MHz)(FDMA Civilian & Military),L2 (1246.00MHz)(FDMA Civilian & Military) GALILEO: L1- (1575.42MHz), E5- (1189MHz), E6-(1278.75) COMPASS: E1 - (1589 MHz), E2 - (1561 MHz), E5b - (1207 MHz) & E6 - (1268 MHz) The L-band is now crowded and researchers have explored possible new allocations for use in GNSS, notably the C- and S-band. C-band navigation will be the scope of this work. C-band refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies between 4 GHz and 8 GHz. Figure 2 shows the current radio bands as categorized in wavelength and frequency domains. C-band lies between UHF and SHF while L-band lies in the UHF region.

Figure 2: electromagnetic spectrum.

The need for the use of C-band is driven by the need to introduce alternative and complimentary capabilities to those services already being offered by systems now in operation or under development. The World Radio Communications Conference 2000 (WRC-2000) allocated the portion of C-band between 5010 and 5030 MHz for RNSS space-to-Earth applications. Currently, the available spectrum which can be used for the development of Radio-Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS) as allocated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is shown in Figure 3 [GNSS signals]. GPS, GLONASS, COMPASS, Galileo, the constituent elements of GNSS, and future GNSS augmentations, are planned to operate in this bands.

Figure 3: Radio-Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS) frequency spectrum defined for GNSS signals (Galileo 2005). Previously, the C-band spectrum has been considered and rejected due to higher free space losses due to limitations on the higher signal frequency [Gunter Hein C-band]. Research has also shown increased signal attenuation of C-band signals due to fog and rain. However, researchers are hoping that much smaller ionospheric errors for standard single frequency applications (as compared to the L-band) and decrease payload due to the small sized C-band antenna could be highly advantageous and reasons enough to warrant reconsideration on using C-band for GNSS[Schmitz-Peiffer, Gunter Hein et al]. The next section looks at the effects of the atmosphere on radio signals with particular attention to the L- and C-band. 3