OBJECTIVES

Comparing the orbit of a certain GNSS satellite with respect to

WGS84 reference system (ECEF coordinates), obtained from
broadcast ephemeris and precise post-processed orbits.

Highlight the fact that the errors between them are small
enough for obtaining the right solution for navigation and
positioning problems.

Implementing a 10
th
order polynomial interpolation (Lagrange
method) for the SV 12 orbit.

DATA FILES USED
For this study, the orbit of GNSS SV
12 was computed using:
Broadcast ephemerides data
contained in the RINEX (Receiver
Independent Exchange Format)
navigation file.
Precise ephemerides from SP3
(Standard Product Version 3) file.
Both were downloaded from
International GNSS Service
( igs.bkg.bund.de) corresponding
to the same day (11.03.2013).
INTRODUCTION

Global Navigation Satellite
Systems (GNSS) positioning
and navigation is based on a
process called trilateration.

For a better understanding,
imagine that you dont know
your location but you do know
your distance from three or
four known points. With that
information you can trilaterate
your position.
http://what-when-how.com
RINEX


Is a format for raw GNSS
data
Used to post-process the
received data producing more
accurate results.
Keplerian and perturbation
parameters are contained in
these data blocks for every
satellite in the constellation.
KEPLERIAN PARAMETERS
The RINEX file contains the
required parameters that define
an orbit:
semi-major axis
orbit eccentricity
orbit inclination
true anomaly
longitude of the ascending
node
argument of perigee


www.satelliteorbitdetermination.com
SP3

Is a geospatial format that
stores information about
GNSS satellites
Satellite position (X, Y, Z) at
each 15 minutes
Clock correction
GPS week and seconds of
week.
COMPUTING THE SATELLITE
ORBIT
To obtain the GNSS satellite coordinates from the navigation
message specific algorithms must be respected for computation of:
time t
k
from the ephemerides reference epoch t
oe
mean anomaly at t
k

eccentric anomaly (iteratively) E
k

true anomaly v
k
argument of latitude u
k
radial distance r
k

longitude of the ascending node
k

coordinates of the satellite in the ECEF frame (WGS84 reference
system)

MATLAB


In order to accomplish the purpose of this study, several functions,
were developed under MATLAB environment, with the aim of:
importing data
computing the SV orbits
comparing the orbits
plotting the results.

ROUTINES DEVELOPED UNDER
MATLAB I


Opens the selecting menu

Reads the blocks of data

Arranges the data in a matrix

ROUTINES DEVELOPED UNDER
MATLAB II


Computes the GNSS SV
orbital elements

The algorithm is described in
GNSS Data Processing Book:
Volume I
ROUTINES DEVELOPED UNDER
MATLAB III

Computes the orbit every 5
seconds at a given time
Uses the data from SP3 file
Plots the interpolated orbit
along the precise orbit
ROUTINES DEVELOPED UNDER
MATLAB IV


A general script was made:
involving all the functions
created
computes and plots the orbit
from the RINEX navigation
file and from the SP3 file

PRECISE FULL ORBIT OF SV 12



Results plotted from SP3 file
The precise full orbit of SV12
Date of orbit is 11.03.2013
Will be used as reference for
the current study
ERRORS BETWEEN BROADCASTED
AND PRECISE ORBIT OF SV12
Broadcasted partial orbit
from t
oe
=252000 to t
oe
=258300
(seconds of GPS week)

Precise partial orbit
from t
oe
=252000 to t
oe
=258300
(seconds of GPS week)
ERRORS BETWEEN RINEX-SP3
No. t
oe
(sec)

x [m] y [m] z [m]
1 252000 0,5190 -0,7292 0,5721
2 252900 0,4597 -0,5377 0,5169
3 253800 0,4168 -0,4159 0,4562
4 254700 0,3620 -0,3355 0,3818
5 255600 0,2644 -0,2653 0,2736
6 256500 0,1003 -0,1867 0,1086
7 254700 -0,1434 -0,0985 -0,1374
8 258300 -0,4617 -0,0276 -0,4804
THE LINEAR ERROR OVER TIME
t
oe
(sec) Spatial dist. [m]
252000 1,0623
252900 0,8762
253800 0,7449
254700 0,6240
255600 0,4638
256500 0,2382
254700 0,2217
258300 0,6668
Mean [m] [m]
0,6122 0,2946
INTERPOLATION



As the SP3 file provides satellite positions at a 15 minutes rate, for
other epochs, an interpolation process is necessary. A 10
th
order
polynomial interpolation (Lagrange method) was used as this is
sufficient to provide centimeter accuracy.

=1
(

INTERPOLATED AND
PRECISE ORBIT


Both orbits belong to the
same period of time
The interpolated orbit was
computed every 5 seconds
along the precise orbit which
is every 15 minutes.
CONCLUSIONS


Satellite based positioning and navigation are affected by various
errors that occur during these processes.
The differences between broadcasted and post-processed orbits
are small enough for real time navigation and positioning. This
represents the basic concept for GNSS measurements in real
time.



Thank you for your attention!