1

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

SATELLITE HISTORY
In

1945,

Arthur

that

Tracking stations on the ground picked up the radio

satellites could be placed into orbit so that they moved

signals and confirmed that the tiny satellite had

in the same direction and at the same rate as the

survived the launch and was successfully tracing a

spinning

path around our planet. A month later, the Soviets

Earth.

satellites,

he

C.

Clarke

below what is today's citizens-band (27 megahertz).

These

so-called

proposed,

could

suggested

geostationary
be

used

for

communications.

placed a companion craft, Sputnik 2, in orbit. Nestled

inside the capsule was a dog by the name of Laika.

Many scientists didn't fully embrace Clarke's

In December 1957, desperate to keep up with

idea -- until Oct. 4, 1957. That's when the Soviet Union

their Cold War counterparts, American scientists tried

launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite to

to carry a satellite into orbit aboard a Vanguard rocket.

orbit Earth. Sputnik was a 23-inch (58-centimeter),

Unfortunately, the rocket crashed and burned on the

184-pound (83-kilogram) metal ball. Although it was a

launchpad. Shortly after, on Jan. 31, 1958, the U.S.

remarkable achievement, Sputnik's contents seem

finally matched the success of the Soviets by using a

meager by today's standards:

plan adopted by Wernher von Braun, which called for a

Thermometer

U.S. Redstone rocket to propel a satellite -- Explorer 1

Battery

-- into Earth's orbit. Explorer 1 carried instrumentation

Radio transmitter -- changed the tone of

to detect cosmic rays and revealed, in an experiment

its beeps to match temperature changes

led by James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, a

Nitrogen gas -- pressurized the interior of

much lower cosmic ray count than expected. This led

the satellite

to the discovery of two doughnut-shaped zones

(eventually named for Van Allen) filled with charged

On the outside of Sputnik, four whip antennas
transmitted on shortwave frequencies above and

particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field.

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

Bolstered

by

these

successes,

several

companies raced to develop and deploy satellites in

the 1960s. One of these was Hughes Aircraft and its
star engineer Harold Rosen. Rosen led a team that

Satellite and Space Junk

Satellite:

turned Arthur C. Clarke's concept -- a communications

satellite positioned in Earth's orbit so it could bounce

Any object that revolves around a planet or

smaller celestial body

Astronomers classify moons as natural satellites,

radio waves from one location to another -- into a

and they have, over the years, tallied hundreds

feasible design. In 1961, NASA gave Hughes a contract

of these objects orbiting the planets and dwarf

to build the Syncom (synchronous communication)

planets in our solar system.

series of satellites. In July 1963, Rosen and his

colleagues watched as Syncom 2 soared into space

Man-made objects (satellites) that perform a

useful function.

and navigated into a (roughly) geosynchronous orbit.

President Kennedy used the new system to have a
conversation with the Nigerian prime minister in Africa.
This was followed by Syncom 3, which could actually
broadcast television.

Scraps of metal and other detritus hardly count

as useful and therefore fall into a different
category known as orbital debris.

SATELLITE
A satellite is any object that moves in a curved path
around a planet. The moon is Earth's original, natural
satellite, and there are many man-made (artificial)
satellites, usually closer to Earth. The path a satellite
follows is an orbit, which sometimes takes the shape of
a circle.

Space Junk

LAUNCHING INTO ORBIT

1. All satellites today get into orbit by riding on a
rocket. Many used to hitch a ride in the cargo
bay of the space shuttle.
2. For most satellite launches, the scheduled
launch rocket is aimed straight up at first. This
gets the rocket through the thickest part of the

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

atmosphere most quickly and best minimizes

ORBITAL VELOCITY AND ALTITUDE

fuel consumption.
3. After a rocket launches straight up, the rocket

(40,320 kph) to completely escape Earth's

control mechanism uses the inertial guidance

system to calculate necessary adjustments to

A rocket must accelerate to at least 25,039 mph

gravity and fly off into space

Earth's escape velocity is much greater than

the rocket's nozzles to tilt the rocket to the

what is required to place an Earth satellite in

course described in the flight plan. In most

orbit. With satellites, the objective is not to

cases, the flight plan calls for the rocket to head

escape Earth's gravity, but to balance it.

east because Earth rotates to the east, giving

Orbital velocity is the velocity needed to

the launch vehicle a free boost. The strength of

achieve balance between gravity's pull on the

this boost depends on the rotational velocity of

satellite and the inertia of the satellite's motion

Earth at the launch location. The boost is

-- the satellite's tendency to keep going. This is

greatest at the equator, where the distance

approximately 17,000 mph (27,359 kph) at an

around Earth is greatest and so rotation is

altitude of 150 miles (242 kilometers).

fastest.

4. Once the rocket reaches extremely thin air, at

about 120 miles (193 kilometers) up, the
rocket's navigational system fires small rockets,
just enough to turn the launch vehicle into a
horizontal

position.

The

satellite

is

then

released. At that point, rockets are fired again to

ensure some separation between the launch
vehicle and the satellite itself.

Without gravity, the satellite's inertia would

carry it off into space. Even with gravity, if the
intended satellite goes too fast, it will eventually
fly away. On the other hand, if the satellite goes
too slowly, gravity will pull it back to Earth. At
the correct orbital velocity, gravity exactly
balances the satellite's inertia, pulling down
toward Earth's center just enough to keep the
path of the satellite curving like Earth's curved
surface, rather than flying off in a straight line

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

The orbital velocity of the satellite depends on

observations, for military purposes and for

its altitude above Earth. The nearer to Earth, the

collecting weather data.

faster the required orbital velocity.

Because the satellite stays right over the same

2. Medium-Earth

orbits

(MEO)

these

satellites park in between the low and high

spot all the time, this kind of orbit is called

flyers,

"geostationary.

orbits are

kilometers) to 22,223 miles (36,000 kilometers).

ideal for weather satellites and communications

Navigation satellites, like the kind used by your

satellites.
In general, the higher the orbit, the longer the

car's GPS, work well at this altitude. Sample

Geostationary

satellite can stay in orbit. At lower altitudes, a

satellite runs into traces of Earth's atmosphere,
which creates drag. The drag causes the orbit to
decay until the satellite falls back into the
atmosphere and burns up. At higher altitudes,
where the vacuum of space is nearly complete,
there is almost no drag and a satellite like the
moon can stay in orbit for centuries.
Categories

of

Satellite

According

so

from

about

1,243

miles

(2,000

specs for such a satellite might be an altitude of

miles (20,200 kilometers) and an orbital speed
of 8,637 mph (13,900 kph).
3. Geosynchronous
satellites,

also

orbits
known

(GEO)
as

GEO

geostationary

satellites, (or high-earth orbits: HEO) move

around Earth at an altitude greater than 22,223
miles (36,000 kilometers) and at the same
speed of rotation. As a result, satellites in these

to

their

orbits are always positioned over the same spot

on Earth. Many geostationary satellites fly

Altitude
(LEO) LEO satellites

above a band along the equator, which has led

occupy a region of space from about 111 miles

to significant congestion in this region of space.

(180

Several hundred television, communications and

1. Low-Earth

orbits

kilometers)

to

1,243

miles

(2,000

kilometers) above Earth. Satellites moving close

to the Earth's surface are ideal for making

weather satellites all use geostationary orbits.

Types of satellites according to its function:

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

1. Weather satellites help meteorologists predict

missions. They look at everything from sunspots

the weather or see what's happening at the

to gamma rays
5. Rescue satellites respond to radio distress

moment.

The

Environmental
example.

Geostationary
Satellite

These

Operational

(GOES)

satellites

is

generally

good

contain

cameras that can return photos of Earth's

weather,

either

from

fixed

geostationary

positions or from polar orbits.

2. Communications satellites allow telephone
and data conversations to be relayed through

signals
6. Earth observation satellites check the planet
for changes in everything from temperature to
forestation to ice-sheet coverage. The most
famous are the Landsat series.
7. Navigational satellites help ships and planes
navigate.

The

most

famous

are

the

GPS

NAVSTAR satellites.

the satellite. Typical communications satellites

include Telstar and Intelsat. The most important
feature of a communications satellite is the
transponder

--

conversation

at

radio

one

that

receives

frequency

and

then

amplifies it and retransmits it back to Earth on

another frequency. A satellite normally contains
hundreds

or

thousands

Communications

of

satellites

geosynchronous
3. Broadcast satellites

transponders.
are

broadcast

usually
television

signals from one point to another (similar to

communications satellites).
4. Scientific satellites, like the Hubble Space
Telescope,

perform

all

sorts

of

scientific

HISTORY OF SATELLITE NAVIGATION

The idea to develop satellite navigation system started
back to 1957 when the first artificial satellite was
launched into orbit, Russias Sputnik I. Dr. Willliam H.
Guier and Dr. Wieffenbach at the Applied Physics
Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University were
monitoring the famous beeps transmitted by the
passing satellite. They plotted the received signals at
precise intervals, and noticed that a characteristic
Doppler curved emerged. They reasoned that this
curve could be described the satellites orbit; then
demonstrated that they could determine all of the

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

orbital parameters for a passing satellite by Doppler

observation of a single fixed station.

SATELLITE NAVIGATION (SatNav) SYSTEM

Dr. Frank T. McClure, also from the Applied Physics

A system of satellites, usually managed by one

Laboratory, reasoned in reverse: If the satellite orbit

company

was known, Doppler shift measurements could be used

positioning, which is a technical term for a specific

to determine ones position on Earth. His studies in

location on or above the Earth in 3 dimensions. A sat

support of this hypothesis earned him the first National

nav system receiver can be used to locate latitude,

Aeronautics

longitude, altitude, velocity and time information.

and

Space

Administration

award

for

or

country

that

provides

geo-spatial

important contribution to space development

Commercial systems are accurate to within a few

In 1958, the Applied Physics Laboratory proposed

meters. High-end systems are accurate to within

exploring the possibility of an operational satellite

centimeters

Doppler

navigation

system.

The

first

successful

launching of a prototype system satellite in April 1960

GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (GNSS)

demonstrated

GNSS refers to a constellation of satellites providing

the

Doppler

systems

operational

feasibility

signals from space transmitting positioning and timing

The Navy Navigation Satellite System (NAVSAT, also

data. By definition, a GNSS provides global coverage.

known as TRANSIT) was the first operational satellite

GNSS is used to refer to the collection of the worlds

navigation system. It was used primarily for the

global satellite positioning systems

navigation of surface ships and submarines, but it also

Examples of GNSS are the USAs NAVSTAR GPS and

had some applications in air navigation. It was also

Russias GLONASS

used in hydrographic surveying and geodetic position

determination. The transit launch program ended in

The performance of a satellite navigation system is

1988 and the system was disestablished when the

assessed according to four criteria:

Global Positioning System became operational in 1996

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

Accuracy refers to the difference between the

Pseudorandom noise (PRN) code

measured and the real position, speed or time of

-a very complicated digital code (1 and 0 pulses)

the receiver.

-the signal is so complicated it almost looks like

Integrity refers to a systems capacity to

random electrical noise

provide confidence thresholds as well as alarms

-every navigation satellite has a unique PRN code

in the event that anomalies occur in the

positioning data.

Carriers

Continuity refers to a navigation systems

L1 carrier (1575.42 MHz) carries both the status

ability to function without interruption.

message and a PRN code for timing; (C/A and P code)

Availability refers to the percentage of time

L2 carrier (1227.6 MHz) used for more precise

during which the signal fulfils the accuracy,

military PRN code; (C/A code only)

integrity and continuity criteria.

New L2C and L5 signals are being added to the system

as new satellites are launched.

SATELLITE NAVIGATION OVERVIEW

PRN codes
Any satellite navigation system has three parts:

C/A (Coarse/Acquisition) code modulates the L1

The Space segment

carrier; repeats every 1023 bits and modulates at a

The Control segment

1MHz rate; basis for civilian GPS use

The User segment

P (Precise code) modulates both L1 and L2 carriers at

All these parts operate together to provide accurate

three-dimensional positioning, timing and velocity data

complicated than C/A code;

to users worldwide.

The PRN code:

10MHz

rate;

intended

for

military

use;

more

uniquely identifies each satellite,

SPACE SEGMENT

provides the timing coordination for the system, and

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

makes it possible to amplify the low-power GPS

of four satellites to obtain accurate position, velocity

signal, so the receivers dont need big satellite dishes.

and timing measurements; The receiver identifies each

satellite by its PRN code and generates the same PRN

Navigation Message

code itself. Then, using a process called correlation, it

-a low frequency signal added to the L1 codes that

slides its own code in time until it is exactly

contains

synchronized

satellite

propagation

ephemeris

correction

data,

data,
and

atmospheric

satellite

clock

corrections.

(correlated)

with

the

corresponding

satellites code.
A user receiver calculates its location on the
earth's surface using the known positions of the

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) allows all

satellites being tracked - in effect measuring the

satellites to use a common carrier frequency while still

distance to each satellite and then triangulating a

allowing the receiver to determine which satellite is

position. With as few as four satellites in view, the

transmitting; allows easy user identification of each

position of the receiver, in three-dimensions, can be

navigation satellite

determined. Only one receiver is needed to achieve

position accuracies in the order of 20 meters. Basic

CONTROL SEGMENT

positioning may be improved to within less than 1

The GPS control segment consists of a master control

meter or even to within a few centimeters using more

station, five base stations and three data up-loading

complex processes, which include augmentation by

stations in locations round the globe.

ground based networks and re-transmitted corrections

by both radio and satellite, and by using the phase

USER SEGMENT

portion of the signal.

- consist of equipment which track and receive the

satellite signals; User receivers must be capable of
simultaneously processing the signals from a minimum

AUGMENTATION OF GNSS

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

A method of improving the navigation system's

attributes,

such

as

availability,

through

accuracy,
the

reliability,

integration

of

and

external

Using these measurements, information messages are

created and sent to one or more satellites for
broadcast to the end users.

information into the calculation process. There are

many such systems in place and they are generally

Implementations:

named or described based on how the GNSS sensor

Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) operated

receives the external information. Some systems

by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

transmit additional information about sources of error

European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service

(such as clock drift, ephemeris, or ionospheric delay),

(EGNOS) operated by the European Space Agency

others provide direct measurements of how much the

(ESA)

signal was off in the past, while a third group provide

Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS)

additional vehicle information to be integrated in the

operated by Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure

calculation process.

and Transport, and Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB)

GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN)

SATELLITE-BASED

AUGMENTATION

SYSTEM

operationalized by India

(SBAS)
- a system that supports wide-area or regional

GROUND-BASED AUGMENTATION SYSTEM (GBAS)

augmentation through the use of additional satellite-

-supports augmentation through the use of terrestrial

broadcast messages. Such systems are commonly

radio messages; commonly composed of one or more

composed of multiple ground stations, located at

accurately

accurately-surveyed points. The ground stations take

measurements concerning the GNSS, and one or more

measurements of one or more of the GNSS satellites,

radio transmitters, which transmit the information

the satellite signals, or other environmental factors

directly

which may impact the signal received by the users.

GBAS

surveyed

ground

to
networks

the
are

stations,

which

end
considered

take

user.
localized,

10

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

supporting receivers within 20 kilometers (12 mi), and

receiver/processor can convert the pseudorange and

transmitting in the very high frequency (VHF) or ultra

pseudorange rate to three-dimensional position and

high frequency (UHF) bands.

velocity. Four measurements are necessary to solve for

the

GROUND-BASED

REGIONAL

AUGMENTATION

SYSTEM (GRAS)

three

unknown

components

of

position

(or

velocity) and the unknown user time (or frequency)

bias.

-same as GBAS; however, it is applied to systems that

support a larger, regional area, and also transmit in

Trilateration the process of determining absolute or

the VHF bands

relative locations of points by using the geometry of

spheres

Determining the navigation location

To

obtain

navigation

(latitude,longitude,

and

solution

altitude)

and

of

position

time

The Correlation Process

(four

-compares the signal received from the satellites with

unknowns), four satellites must be used. The GPS user

the signal generated by the receiver by comparing the

measures pseudorange and pseudorange rate by

square wave function of the received signal with the

synchronizing and tracking the navigation signal from

square wave function generated by the receiver. The

each of the four selected satellites.

signals are processed and matched by using an

Pseudorange is the true distance between the

autocorrelation function.

satellite and the user plus an offset due to the users

clock bias

Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Precise

Pseudorange rate is the true slant range rate plus an

Positioning Service (PPS)

offset due to the frequency error of the users clock.

SPS available worldwide to anyone possessing a GPS

By decoding the ephemeris data and system timing

receiver

information on each satellites signal, the users

11

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

PPS provides more accurate position than SPS;

to the user; the product of several factors, including

available only to authorized users, mainly the US

the clock stability, the predictability of the satellites

military and authorized allies

orbit, errors in the 50 Hz navigation message, the

precision of the receivers correlation process, errors

Cryptographic Methods for denying PPS accuracy to

due to atmospheric distortion and the calculations to

civilian users

compensate for it, and the quality of the satellites

1. Selective Ability (SA) introduces controlled

signal.

errors into both C/A and P code signals

Errors in the satellite signal
a. Epsilon

error

ephemeris

data

an
in

Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP)

error
the

in

satellite

navigation

message
b. Clock dither errors introduced in the
satellite atomic clocks timing
2. Anti-spoofing (A-S) negates any

hostile

imitation of GPS signals; alters the P code into

another code, the designated Y code (C/A code
remains unaffected)

-measures the spread of the satellites around the

receiver.
-depends on the geometry of the satellites in relation
to the users receiver; it is independent of the quality
of the broadcast signals and the users receiver
Types of DOP:
1. Vertical dilution of precision (VDOP) describes
the effect of satellite geometry on altitude
calculations
2. Horizontal dilution

FACTORS/ERRORS TO CONSIDER

of

precision

(HDOP)

describes satellite geometrys effect on position

(longitude and latitude) errors

User Equivalent Range Error (UERE)

- a random error which is the function of errors in both
the satellites and the users receiver; the error in the
measurement of the pseudoranges from each satellite

These two DOPs combine to determine the position

dilution of precision (PDOP). The PDOP combined with
the time dilution of precision results in the GDOP.

12

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

Group Time Delay

the celestial sphere); the sun is exactly over the

-a phenomenon which results in a delay in the time a

equator and the time of day and night are of

signal takes to travel through a given distance due to

equal length

the ionospheric effect

3. Solar cycle it typically follows an eleven year

Ionosphere region of the atmosphere which

pattern; the greater the number of sunspots, the

contains a large number of ionized molecules and a

higher the TEC value and the greater the group

correspondingly high number of free electrons

time delay

Equation:

t=

Methods to counter group time delay error:

( k TEC )
f2

1. Dual frequency technique requires the ability

to acquire both L1 and L2 frequency signals;
measures the distance between the satellite and

Where:
t

= group time delay

= constant

TEC

= atmospheres total electron content

= operating frequency

the user based on both L1 and L2 carrier signal

Advantages over ionospheric model method
a. It calculates corrections from real time
measured data; more accurate
b. It alleviates the need to include ionospheric data
on the navigation message
2. Ionospheric model method mathematically

Factors affecting group time delay value

models the diurnal ionospheric variation. The value

1. Time of the day accuracy degradation is highest

for

when the sun is shining and lowest at night

2. Season it is highest at the vernal equinox (spring)

cosinusoidal

Equinox one of the two points of intersection

between the ecliptic (the suns apparent annual
path) and the celestial equator (the equator of

this

time

delay

function

is
in

determined
which

from

coefficients

representing the maximum value of the time delay,

the time of the day, the period of the variation, and
a minimum value of delay are introduced.

13

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

Multipath Reflection Error

management and tracking of ship and land vehicle

-occurs when the receiver detects parts of the same

fleets;

signal at two different times. The first reception is the

rental and personal car navigation systems;

direct path (signal received directly from the satellite)

automation of container location and racking to

and the second reception is from a reflection of that

increase the efficiency of ports;

same signal from the ground or any other reflective

navigation systems for remotely piloted air, land and

surface.

water vehicles;

Countermeasure:

road and rail traffic monitoring;

1. The L1 and L2 frequencies uses a diffuse

reflection pattern to lower the signal strength of
any reflection that arrives at the receiver
2. The receivers antenna can be designed to
reject a signal that it recognizes as a reflection
3. The high data frequency of both C/A and P
codes and their good correlation properties
minimizes the effect of multipath propagation

dispatch and monitoring of emergency services;

automated car and truck guidance systems;
automated guidance of agricultural equipment for
efficiency

improvements

in

crop

spraying

and

harvesting
recreational guidance for hikers, boaters, cyclists and
explorers;
aerial, seismic, and land surveying;
large structure monitoring (such as dams, bridges,
buildings, etc);
accurate timing systems for communications and
commerce; and

SATELLITE NAVIGATION APPLICATIONS

air traffic navigation and control and their related

earthquake and tsunami detection and warning

systems.

accuracy and integrity; enhancement infrastructure;

More on GNSS

14

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

A 30-satellite global navigation system currently being

Operational GNSS (GPS and GLONASS)

developed by the European Union and European Space

GNSS in development (Compass and Galileo)

Agency, expected to be completed in 2019. One of the

Existing regional satellite navigation system (BeiDou,

goals of this system is to provide high-precision

IRNSS, and QZSS

positioning system for European nations that are

independent from Russian GLONASS, U.S. GPS.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

As of January 2015, the Galileo has five satellites in

The Navigation System using Timing and Ranging

orbit, with the fifth satellite salvaged from its wrong

(NAVSTAR) GPS is created by the U.S. Department of

orbit after its launch on December 2014.

Defense. GPS is the first satellite navigation system;

composed of 24 satellites. Anyone with a GPS receiver

Compass

can use the service anywhere on earth where there is

A global navigation system being developed by China

an unobstructed line-of-sight to four or more GPS

that will consist of 35 satellites and is expected to be

satellites.

completed in 2020. It is the second generation of its

regional BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS),

GLONASS
Acronym

also known as BeiDou-2.

for

"Globalnaya

navigatsionnaya

sputnikovaya sistema" or "Global Navigation Satellite

QZSS

System"; also composed of 24 satellites; operated by

Quasi-Zenith Satellite System is a proposed three-

the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces; the only other

satellite regional time transfer system and Satellite-

operational sat nav system with global coverage and

Based Augmentation System for the GPS that would be

of comparable precision.

receivable within Japan and Australia.

Galileo

BeiDou

15

SATELLITE NAVIGATION

BDS consists of two separate satellite constellations.

The Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System

The first is a limited test system known as BeiDou-1

(IRNSS) is a regional satellite navigation system being

consisting three satellites and offers limited coverage

developed by the Indian Space Research Organization.

and applications. Its navigation services have been

When complete, it will be under control of the Indian

mainly for customers in China and neighboring

government. IRNSS will provide standard service for

regions. The second generation, BeiDou-2 (Compass),

civilian use and an encrypted restricted service for

is a full-scale global navigation system currently under

authorized users (military).

construction.
IRNSS