Satellite System:

Satellite System:
A satellite system is a set of gravitationally bound objects in orbit around a planetary mass
object or minor planet.
It is a set of natural satellites (moons), although such systems may also consist of bodies
such as circumplanetary disks, ring systems, moonlets, minor-planet moons and artificial satellites
any of which may themselves have satellite systems of their own. Some bodies also possess quasi-
satellites that have orbits gravitationally influenced by their primary, but are generally not
considered to be part of a satellite system.
History:
The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke from England could be name the father of
satellite communications, because he was the first who proposed to launch a satellite into the Earth
orbit where satellite’s speed would match with the rotation of the Earth. That orbit, which is 35786
km height above the planet surface today, is known as geostationary orbit, but sometimes it is
called Clarke orbit in honor of his work and ideas [Held91]. 1945 Mr. Clarke was analyzing
different orbits and was stressing the possible high-speed global communication networks enabled
by above the earth surface revolving satellites. Already at that time, he emphasized that it would
be enough to have 3 satellites in order to cover the whole planet. The first world’s satellite Sputnik
1 as big as basketball was launched by Russia (former Soviet Union) in 1957 (October) with the
aim to relay the signal of Morse code.
The first published mathematical study of the possibility of an artificial satellite was
Newton's cannonball, a thought experiment in A Treatise of the System of the World by Isaac
Newton (1687). The first fictional depiction of a satellite being launched into orbit was a short
story by Edward Everett Hale, The Brick Moon. The idea surfaced again in Jules Verne's The
Begum's Fortune (1879).
In 1903, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) published Exploring Space Using Jet
Propulsion Devices, which is the first academic treatise on the use of rocketry to launch spacecraft.
He calculated the orbital speed required for a minimal orbit, and that a multi-stage rocket fueled
by liquid propellants could achieve this.
In 1928, Herman Potočnik (1892–1929) published his sole book, The Problem of Space
Travel The Rocket Motor. He described the use of orbiting spacecraft for observation of the ground
and described how the special conditions of space could be useful for scientific experiments.
In a 1945 Wireless World article, the English science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke
described in detail the possible use of communications satellites for mass communications. He
suggested that three geostationary satellites would provide coverage over the entire planet.
In May 1946, the United States Air Force's Project RAND released the Preliminary Design
of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship, which stated that "A satellite vehicle with
appropriate instrumentation can be expected to be one of the most potent scientific tools of the
Twentieth Century. "The United States had been considering launching orbital satellites since 1945
under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy. Project RAND eventually released the
report, but considered the satellite to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda, rather than a
potential military weapon. In February 1954 Project RAND released "Scientific Uses for a Satellite
Vehicle," written by R.R. Carhart. This expanded on potential scientific uses for satellite vehicles
and was followed in June 1955 with "The Scientific Use of an Artificial Satellite," by H.K.
Kallmann and W.W. Kellogg.
In the context of activities planned for the International Geophysical Year (1957–58), the
White House announced on 29 July 1955 that the U.S. intended to launch satellites by the spring
of 1958. This became known as Project Vanguard. On 31 July, the Soviets announced that they
intended to launch a satellite by the fall of 1957.
The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957
under the Sputnik program, with Sergei Korolevas chief designer. Sputnik 1 helped to identify the
density of high atmospheric layers through measurement of its orbital change and provided data
on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1's
success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the so called Space Race
within the Cold War.
Types of satellites:
Nowadays there are hundreds various types of satellites used for different services. They
are categorized in the following types:

 Communication satellites:
Their purpose of them is to serve as a relay station in the space using radio frequency waves
to transmit the signal and information with it.

 Navigation satellites:
The radio line signals sent from navigation satellites with the help of regularly developed
electronic equipment enables the signals receiver on the earth to identify its position with pretty
high accuracy.

 Earth observation satellites:

These satellites are constructed with the goal to observe the earth from the space in order
to monitor environmentally, make maps, use for meteorology, but usually not for military
purposes.

 Astronomical satellites:
The galaxies, other planets and other space bodies can be tracked and studied with the help
of these satellites.
  Reconnaissance satellites:
They are similarly as Earth Observation satellites are also used to watch the earth, but for
military and intelligence (e. g. espionage) purposes. Governments do not provide much
information about the power of these satellites as it used for various secret purposes.
Solar power satellites:
They use the radio frequency waves to transmit the power of sun to a huge antenna on the
earth. The solar power afterwards can be used as a resource instead of traditional power.

 Space stations:
The purpose of man shaped space stations is to create an environment for more and longer
different scientific researches in comparison with other spacecrafts to measure the effects for
human beings of a longer stay in the space.
 Weather satellites:
Space vehicles are used to observe the weather and in some case the global climate.
 Miniaturized satellites:
These satellites have uncommonly light weight and are very small (e.g. 500 – 10 kg
compared with traditional satellites, which can weight about 5000 kg, like PAS 1 – R made by
PanAmSat Corp.). The advantage of such spacecrafts is the much lower requirements for
equipment in order to launch them into space, which leads to much lower costs. Besides that, they
are also used for the missions, which usual satellites are not able to execute, like the low data rate
transmission constellations, inspection of traditional space vehicles and etc.
 Biosatellites:
In order to conduct the scientific tests and various experiments with the different living
forms, the biosatellites were created.

 Killer Satellites:
They are also named Anti-Satellite Weapons and are used for destruction of rival satellites
or other weapons in orbits.

 Satellite orbits:

Orbit is described as a pathway, which one space body makes around the other space body,
because they are both influenced by gravity and centripetal force.
Types of Satellite Orbits:
 Low Earth Orbit (LEO):
LEO finds its place from 200 km to 1200 km height above the earth. The advantage of this
orbit is the shorter signal traveling time and lower possibility to lose its path. On the other hand,
the coverage zone is quite small (in comparison with GEO) and the connection to satellite from
ground station time is shorter, because the satellite moves quicker as the earth is turning. The
increased interest in mobile communications via satellites over the last years motivated the
augmentation of LEO usage and development of them.

 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO):

MEO is located between 1200 km and 35286 km altitude above earth surface. Some
literature sources indicate that the Medium Earth Orbit is located between 5000 km and 13000 km
height or between two Van Allen belts. Van Allen belts are two high intensity radiation zones of
the earth, where highly charged particles and high energy neutrons take place. For this reason, the
two belts are communication satellites damaging. Thus, it is avoided to place the satellite in the
Van Allen belts zones.

 Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO):

The name of the HEO arises from its elliptical form, which is helpful in order to achieve a
better coverage of higher populated zones or usually not reachable parts of earth (such as poles)
without the interruption of lower orbits.

 Geostationary Orbit (GEO):

GEO is placed 35786 km above Earth's surface. The orbit is called geostationary orbit,
because satellites’, placed in this orbit, speed is matched with earth turning speed so that the
satellite moves always together with the earth. In other words to say, if the one would be able to
see the satellite from the earth, the satellite would always stay in the same point of the space from
the earth perspective. Most of the communication satellites are place in GEO.
Parts of a satellite:
Every usable artificial satellite whether it's a human or robotic one has four main parts to
it: a power system (which could be solar or nuclear, for example), a way to control its attitude, an
antenna to transmit and receive information, and a payload to collect information (such as a camera
or particle detector).
As will be seen below, however, not all artificial satellites are necessarily workable ones.
Even a screw or a bit of paint is considered an "artificial" satellite, even though these are missing
these parts.
Necessities for Satellite Movement around Earth:
A satellite is best understood as a projectile, or an object that has only one force acting on
it gravity. Technically speaking, anything that crosses the Karman Line at an altitude of 100
kilometers (62 miles) is considered in space. However, a satellite needs to be going fast at least 8
km (5 miles) a second to stop from falling back down to Earth immediately.
If a satellite is traveling fast enough, it will perpetually "fall" toward Earth, but the Earth's
curvature means that the satellite will fall around our planet instead of crashing back on the surface.
Satellites that travel closer to Earth are at risk of falling because the drag of atmospheric molecules
will slow the satellites down. Those that orbit farther away from Earth have fewer molecules to
contend with.
There are several accepted "zones" of orbits around the Earth. One is called low-Earth-
orbit, which extends from about 160 to 2,000 km (about 100 to 1,250 miles). This is the zone
where the ISS orbits and where the space shuttle used to do its work. In fact, all human missions
except for the Apollo flights to the moon took place in this zone. Most satellites also work in this
zone.
Geostationary or geosynchronous orbit is the best spot for communications satellites to use,
however. This is a zone above Earth's equator at an altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi). At this
altitude, the rate of "fall" around the Earth is about the same as Earth's rotation, which allows the
satellite to stay above the same spot on Earth almost constantly. The satellite thus keeps a perpetual
connection with a fixed antenna on the ground, allowing for reliable communications. When
geostationary satellites reach the end of their life, protocol dictates they're moved out of the way
for a new satellite to take their place. That's because there is only so much room, or so many "slots"
in that orbit, to allow the satellites to operate without interference.
While some satellites are best used around the equator, others are better suited to more
polar orbits those that circle the Earth from pole to pole so that their coverage zones include the
north and south poles. Examples of polar-orbiting satellites include weather satellites and
reconnaissance satellites.
Hurdles in Satellite Movement:
There are an estimated half-million artificial objects in Earth orbit today, ranging in size
from paint flecks up to full-fledged satellites each traveling at speeds of thousands of miles an
hour. Only a fraction of these satellites are useable, meaning that there is a lot of "space junk"
floating around out there. With everything that is lobbed into orbit, the chance of a collision
increases.
Space agencies have to consider orbital trajectories carefully when launching something
into space. Agencies such as the United States Space Surveillance Network keep an eye on orbital
debris from the ground, and alert NASA and other entities if an errant piece is in danger of hitting
something vital. This means that from time to time, the ISS needs to perform evasive maneuvers
to get out of the way.
Collisions still occur, however. One of the biggest culprits of space debris was the leftovers
of a 2007 anti-satellite test performed by the Chinese, which generated debris that destroyed a
Russian satellite in 2013. Also that year, the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites smashed into
each other, generating a cloud of debris.
ArcGIS
ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic
information maintained by Esri. It is used for creating and using maps, compiling geographic data,
analyzing mapped information, sharing and discovering geographic information, using maps and
geographic information in a range of applications, and managing geographic information in a
database.
The system provides an infrastructure for making maps and geographic information available
throughout an organization, across a community, and openly on the Web.
ArcGIS includes the following Windows desktop software:

 ArcReader, which allows one to view and query maps created with the other ArcGIS products;
 ArcGIS Desktop, which is licensed under three functionality levels:
o ArcGIS Desktop Basic (formerly known as ArcView), which allows one to view spatial
data, create layered maps, and perform basic spatial analysis;
o ArcGIS Desktop Standard (formerly known as ArcEditor), which in addition to the
functionality of ArcView, includes more advanced tools for manipulation of shapefiles
and geodatabases;
o ArcGIS Desktop Advanced (formerly known as ArcInfo), which includes capabilities for
data manipulation, editing, and analysis.

 ArcGIS Pro, is the new application of ESRI, will replace ArcMap. ArcGIS Pro works in 2D
and 3D for cartography and visualization, and include Artificial Intelligence (AI).
There is also server-based ArcGIS software as part of the ArcGIS Enterprise product, as well as
ArcGIS applications for mobile devices like phones and tablets. Extensions can be purchased
separately to increase the functionality of ArcGIS. Receiving a certificate in ArcGIS software is
also available for professionals from beginners to experts through Esri's training programs.
History
Prior to the ArcGIS suite, Esri had focused its software development on the command line
Arc/INFO workstation program and several Graphical User Interface-based products such as the
ArcView GIS 3.x desktop program. Other Esri products included Map Objects, a programming
library for developers, and ArcSDE as a relational database management system. The various
products had branched out into multiple source trees and did not integrate well with one another.
In January 1997, Esri decided to revamp its GIS software platform, creating a single integrated
software architecture.
Geodatabase
Older Esri products, including ArcView 3.x, worked with data in the shapefile format. ArcInfo
Workstation handled coverages, which stored topology information about the spatial data.
Coverages, which were introduced in 1981 when ArcInfo was first released, have limitations in
how they handle types of features. Some features, such as roads with street intersections or
overpasses and underpasses, should be handled differently from other types of features.
ArcGIS is built around a geodatabase, which uses an object-relational database approach for
storing spatial data. A geodatabase is a "container" for holding datasets, tying together the spatial
features with attributes. The geodatabase can also contain topology information, and can model
behavior of features, such as road intersections, with rules on how features relate to one another.
When working with geodatabases, it is important to understand feature classes which are a set of
features, represented with points, lines, or polygons. With shapefiles, each file can only handle one
type of feature. A geodatabase can store multiple feature classes or type of features within one file.
Geodatabases in ArcGIS can be stored in three different ways as a "file geodatabase", a "personal
geodatabase", or an "enterprise geodatabase" (formerly known as an SDE or ArcSDE
geodatabase). Introduced at 9.2, the file geodatabase stores information in a folder named with a
gdb extension. The insides look similar to that of a coverage but is not, in fact, a coverage. Similar
to the personal geodatabase, the file geodatabase only supports a single editor. However, unlike
the personal geodatabase, there is virtually no size limit. By default, any single table cannot exceed
1TB, but this can be changed. Personal geodatabases store data in Microsoft Access files, using a
BLOB field to store the geometry data. The OGR library is able to handle this file type, to convert
it to other file formats. Database administration tasks for personal geodatabases, such as managing
users and creating backups, can be done through ArcCatalog and ArcGIS Pro. Personal
geodatabases, which are based on Microsoft Access, run only on Microsoft Windows and have a
2 gigabyte size limit. Enterprise (multi-user) geodatabases sit on top of high-end DBMS such as
PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2 and Informix to handle database management
aspects, while ArcGIS deals with spatial data management. Enterprise level geodatabases support
database replication, versioning and transaction management, and are cross-platform compatible,
able to run on Linux, Windows, and Solaris.
Also released at 9.2 is the personal SDE database that operates with SQL Server Express. Personal
SDE databases do not support multi-user editing, but do support versioning and disconnected
editing. Microsoft limits SQL Server Express databases to 4GB.
ArcGIS Desktop
Product levels
ArcGIS Desktop is available at different product levels, with increasing functionality.

 ArcReader (freeware, viewer) is a basic data viewer for maps and GIS data published in the
proprietary Esri format using ArcGIS Publisher. The software also provides some basic tools
for map viewing, printing and querying of spatial data. ArcReader is included with any of the
ArcGIS suite of products, and is also available for free to download. ArcReader only works
with preauthored published map files, created with ArcGIS Publisher.
 ArcGIS Desktop Basic, formerly known as ArcView, is the entry level of ArcGIS licensing
offered. With ArcView, one is able to view and edit GIS data held in flat files, or view data
stored in a relational database management system by accessing it through ArcSDE.
 ArcGIS Desktop Standard, formerly known as ArcEditor, is the midlevel software suite
designed for advanced editing of spatial data published in the proprietary Esri format. It
provides tools for the creation of map and spatial data used in GIS, including the ability of
editing geodatabase files and data, multiuser geodatabase editing, versioning, raster data
editing and vectorization, advanced vector data editing, managing coverages, coordinate
geometry (COGO), and editing geometric networks. ArcEditor is not intended for advanced
spatial analysis.
 ArcGIS Desktop Advanced, formerly known as ArcInfo, allows users the most flexibility
and control in "all aspects of data building, modeling, analysis, and map display." ArcInfo
includes increased capability in the areas of spatial analysis, geoprocessing, data management,
and others.
Other desktop GIS software include ArcGIS Explorer and ArcGIS Engine. ArcGIS Explorer is a
GIS viewer which can work as a client for ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, ArcWeb Services and Web
Map Service (WMS).

 ArcGIS Online is a web application allowing sharing and search of geographic information,
as well as content published by Esri, ArcGIS users, and other authoritative data providers. It
allows users to create and join groups, and control access to items shared publicly or within
groups.
 ArcGIS Web Mapping APIs are APIs for several languages, allowing users to build and
deploy applications that include GIS functionality and Web services from ArcGIS Online and
ArcGIS Server. Adobe Flex, JavaScript and Microsoft Silverlight are supported for
applications that can be embedded in web pages or launched as stand-alone Web applications.
Flex, Adobe Air and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) are supported for desktop
applications.

Components:
ArcGIS Desktop consists of several integrated applications, including ArcMap, ArcCatalog,
ArcToolbox, ArcScene, ArcGlobe, and ArcGIS Pro. ArcCatalog is the data management
application, used to browse datasets and files on one's computer, database, or other sources. In
addition to showing what data is available, ArcCatalog also allows users to preview the data on a
map. ArcCatalog also provides the ability to view and manage metadata for spatial datasets.
ArcMap is the application used to view, edit and query geospatial data, and create maps. The
ArcMap interface has two main sections, including a table of contents on the left and the data
frame(s) which display the map. Items in the table of contents correspond with layers on the map.
ArcToolbox contains geoprocessing, data conversion, and analysis tools, along with much of the
functionality in ArcInfo. It is also possible to use batch processing with ArcToolbox, for frequently
repeated tasks. ArcScene is an application which allows the user to view their GIS data in 3-D and
is available with the 3D Analyst License. In the layer properties of ArcScene there is an Extrusion
function which allows the user to exaggerate features three dimension-ally. ArcGlobe is another
one of ArcGIS's 3D visualization applications available with the 3D Analyst License. ArcGlobe is
a 3D visualization application that allows you to view large amounts of GIS data on a globe
surface. The ArcGIS Pro application was added to ArcGIS Desktop in 2015 February. It had the
combined capabilities of the other integrated applications and was built as a fully 64-bit software
application. ArcGIS Pro has ArcPy Python scripting for database programming
Differential GPS
A Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is an enhancement to the Global Positioning
System (GPS) which provides improved location accuracy, in the range of operations of each
system, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to about 1-3 cm in case of the best
implementations.
Each DGPS uses a network of fixed ground-based reference stations to broadcast the difference
between the positions indicated by the GPS satellite system and known fixed positions. These
stations broadcast the difference between the measured satellite pseudoranges and actual
(internally computed) pseudoranges, and receiver stations may correct their pseudoranges by the
same amount. The digital correction signal is typically broadcast locally over ground-based
transmitters of shorter range.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) each run DGPSes
in the United States and Canada on longwave radio frequencies between 285 kHz and 325 kHz
near major waterways and harbors. The USCG's DGPS was named NDGPS (Nationwide DGPS)
and was jointly administered by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Defense's Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE). It consisted of broadcast sites located throughout the inland and
coastal portions of the United States including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Other countries
have their own DGPS.
A similar system which transmits corrections from orbiting satellites instead of ground-based
transmitters is called a Wide-Area DGPS (WADGPS) or Satellite Based Augmentation System
History:
When GPS was first being put into service, the US military was concerned about the possibility of
enemy forces using the globally available GPS signals to guide their own weapon systems.
Originally, the government thought the "coarse acquisition" (C/A) signal would give only about
100-meter accuracy, but with improved receiver designs, the actual accuracy was 20 to 30 meters.
Starting in March 1990, to avoid providing such unexpected accuracy, the C/A signal transmitted
on the L1 frequency (1575.42 MHz) was deliberately degraded by offsetting its clock signal by a
random amount, equivalent to about 100 meters of distance. This technique, known as "Selective
Availability", or SA for short, seriously degraded the usefulness of the GPS signal for non-military
users. More accurate guidance was possible for users of dual-frequency GPS receivers which also
received the L2 frequency (1227.6 MHz), but the L2 transmission, intended for military use, was
encrypted and was available only to authorized users with the decryption keys.
This presented a problem for civilian users who relied upon ground-based radio
navigation systems such as LORAN, VOR and NDB systems costing millions of dollars each year
to maintain. The advent of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) could provide greatly
improved accuracy and performance at a fraction of the cost. The accuracy inherent in the S/A
signal was however too poor to make this realistic. The military received multiple requests from
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United States Coast Guard (USCG) and United States
Department of Transportation (DOT) to set S/A aside to enable civilian use of GNSS, but remained
steadfast in its objection on grounds of security.
Through the early to mid1980s, a number of agencies developed a solution to the SA "problem".
Since the SA signal was changed slowly, the effect of its offset on positioning was relatively fixed
that is, if the offset was "100 meters to the east", that offset would be true over a relatively wide
area. This suggested that broadcasting this offset to local GPS receivers could eliminate the effects
of SA, resulting in measurements closer to GPS's theoretical performance, around 15 meters.
Additionally, another major source of errors in a GPS fix is due to transmission delays in
the ionosphere, which could also be measured and corrected for in the broadcast. This offered an
improvement to about 5 meters accuracy, more than enough for most civilian needs.
The US Coast Guard was one of the more aggressive proponents of the DGPS, experimenting with
the system on an ever-wider basis through the late 1980s and early 1990s. These signals are
broadcast on marine longwave frequencies, which could be received on existing radiotelephones
and fed into suitably equipped GPS receivers. Almost all major GPS vendors offered units with
DGPS inputs, not only for the USCG signals, but also aviation units on either VHF or
commercial AM radio bands.
They started sending out "production quality" DGPS signals on a limited basis in 1996, and rapidly
expanded the network to cover most US ports of call, as well as the Saint Lawrence Seaway in
partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard. Plans were put into place to expand the system across
the US, but this would not be easy. The quality of the DGPS corrections generally fell with
distance, and large transmitters capable of covering large areas tend to cluster near cities. This
meant that lower-population areas, notably in the midwest and Alaska, would have little coverage
by ground-based GPS. As of November 2013 the USCG's national DGPS consisted of 85 broadcast
sites which provide dual coverage to almost the entire US coastline and inland navigable
waterways including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. In addition the system provided single or
dual coverage to a majority of the inland portion of United States. Instead, the FAA (and others)
started studying broadcasting the signals across the entire hemisphere from communications
satellites in geostationary orbit. This led to the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and
similar systems, although these are generally not referred to as DGPS, or alternatively, "wide-area
DGPS". WAAS offers accuracy similar to the USCG's ground-based DGPS networks, and there
has been some argument that the latter will be turned off as WAAS becomes fully operational.
By the mid-1990s it was clear that the SA system was no longer useful in its intended role. DGPS
would render it ineffective over the US, precisely where it was considered most needed.
Additionally, experience during the Gulf War demonstrated that the widespread use of civilian
receivers by U.S. forces meant that leaving SA turned on was thought to harm the U.S. more than
if it were turned off. After many years of pressure, it took an executive order by President Bill
Clinton to get SA turned off permanently in 2000.
Nevertheless, by this point DGPS had evolved into a system for providing more accuracy than
even a non-SA GPS signal could provide on its own. There are several other sources of error which
share the same characteristics as SA in that they are the same over large areas and for "reasonable"
amounts of time. These include the ionospheric effects mentioned earlier, as well as errors in the
satellite position ephemeris data and clock drift on the satellites. Depending on the amount of data
being sent in the DGPS correction signal, correcting for these effects can reduce the error
significantly, the best implementations offering accuracies of under 10 cm.
In addition to continued deployments of the USCG and FAA sponsored systems, a number of
vendors have created commercial DGPS services, selling their signal (or receivers for it) to users
who require better accuracy than the nominal 15 meters GPS offers. Almost all commercial GPS
units, even hand-held units, now offer DGPS data inputs, and many also support WAAS directly.
To some degree, a form of DGPS is now a natural part of most GPS operations.
Operation:
A reference station calculates differential corrections for its own location and time. Users may be
up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the station, however, and some of the compensated errors
vary with space: specifically, satellite ephemeris errors and those introduced
by ionospheric and tropospheric distortions. For this reason, the accuracy of DGPS decreases with
distance from the reference station. The problem can be aggravated if the user and the station lack
"inter visibility "when they are unable to see the same satellites.
Accuracy:
The United States Federal Radionavigation Plan and the IALA Recommendation on the
Performance and Monitoring of DGNSS Services in the Band 283.5–325 kHz cite the United
States Department of Transportation's 1993 estimated error growth of 0.67 m per 100 km from the
broadcast site but measurements of accuracy across the Atlantic, in Portugal, suggest a degradation
of just 0.22 m per 100 km
Fundamental of GPS Signals
SIGNAL STRUCTURE

GPS satellite transmits signals at two frequencies, designated L1 and L2 on which three binary
modulations are impressed. The C/A- code, the P(Y) code and broadcast (or navigation)
message. L1 is the principal GPS carrier signal with a frequency of 1575.45 MHz and is modulated
with the P(Y) code, C/A code and navigation message. The second signal L2 is transmitted at a
frequency of 1227.60 MHz and is modulated with only P(Y) code and navigation message. The
second signal was primarily established to provide a means of estimating the ionospheric delay to
GPS measurements (Each GPs satellite also transmits a L3 signal at 1381.05 MHz associated with
its dual role as a nuclear blast detection satellite, as well as S band telemetry signal, however these
will not be discussed further).
The `Precision’ P(Y) –code has a bit rate of 10.23 MHz while `Coarse/Acquisition’ C/A code and
navigation message have bit rate of 1.023 MHz and 50 Hz respectively. The P(Y) code is an
encryption of published P-code by a code sequence referred to as W-code (resulting in the so called
`Y code’) and accessible only by US Department of Defence (and other authorized user). The
encryption of P-code was imposed on 31 January 1994 for all satellites under so called Anti-
SIGNAL COVERAGE
The GPS signal is transmitted by the satellite towards the earth in the form of a single beam. In
order to achieve high accuracy, positioning by GPS has to be performed in the differential
mode. In this mode, two GPS receivers observe the same satellite, at the same time, and the
relative position between two receivers is estimated. If one considers the spatial coverage of the
GPS signal from a satellite then distances between two points on the earth’s surface that can still
view the same satellite, as a function of the observation mask angle. With an elevation mask angle
of 150, two receivers on earth’s surface separated as far apart as 13,500 km can still view the same
GPS satellite. However, both receivers `see’ the signal very near the horizon and in general, since
the signal will be obstructed by either topography or objects around the antenna, receiver
separators will be much less than those shown in following figure. For most surveying/ mapping
applications, maximum receiver separations are of the order of tens of kilometers.

Figure 1: GPS Signal Coverage

Mask Angle A Arc length (d)
16889 km15778 km14667
0°5°10°15° 152°142°132°122° km13556 km
Earth Radius R » 6378 km
Mask Angle= Minimum elevation of observed satellite
Table 1: GPS Signal Coverage with Mask Angle
CODES AND PSEUDO RANGE MEASUREMENTS
PSEUDO-RANDOM NOISE CODES
There are two Pseudo-Random Noise (PRN) codes which are modulated on the signals transmitted
by GPS satellites.
 The P(Y) code and
 The C/A code.
The two main functions of these codes are
 To provide time delay measurements so the user can determine the distance from receiver’s
antenna to observed satellite (either code could be used, but the P(Y) code provides a more
precise range estimate than the C/A code)
 To help the receiver in differentiating the incoming signals from different satellites. These
codes are sequences of binary values (zeros and ones), and although the sequence appears to be
random, each code has unique structure generated by mathematical algorithm one version of
the code is generated within the satellite, and identical code sequence is replicated within the
receiver. Two such identical codes will only be aligned at zero lag (i.e. when the sequence of
one code is time shifted to the instant when all the Os and 1s in that code match the sequence in
the other code). Because the codes are generated by either the satellite clock, or receiver clock,
they are in-fact a means of representing the time defined by the respective clock. If two clocks
are synchronized to the same time system, then clock times can be compared and the difference
is a measure of time taken for a signal to travel from satellite to receiver. From this the distance
can be estimated.
Each C/A code is unique sequence of 1023 binary numbers which repeats itself in 1ms. Each
binary bit of C/A code is generated, at the rate of 1.023 MHZ and has a ‘duration’ or ‘length’ of
approximately 1 μs (or about 293m in units of length).
In contrast to the C/A code, the P(Y) code consists much longer binary sequence of 2.3547 x
1014 binary numbers, and its pattern will not repeat itself until after 266 days. The P(Y) code is
generated at a rate ten times faster than the C/A code i.e. 10.23 MHz. This means each bit has
duration of approximately 0.1 μs (or a ‘length’ of above 29m). Each GPS satellite is assigned a
unique 1 week’s segment of the P(Y) code and the segment is set back to zero each week at
midnight (OhUT) from Saturday to Sunday.
DETERMINING SATELLITE – RECEIVER RANGE
By acquiring C/A code or P(Y) code, the observer can measure the distance or range to the
satellite. The basic principle for obtaining range is the so-called ‘code correlation’ technique
whereby the incoming code from the satellite is correlated with a replica of the corresponding code
generated inside the receiver, as depicted in the figure 2 (A) and(B) .
 Figure 2: (A)

Figure 2: (B)
Figure 2: (A) and (B) showing PseudoRange and Carrier Phase Measurement
Both codes are generated using the same mathematical algorithm. The time shift (dt) required to
align the two codes is, in principle, the time required by the signal carrying the code to travel from
the satellite to the receiver. Multiplying dt with speed of light results in an estimate of range. This
range is referred to as a pseudo range, because it is still biased by the time offset (or mis-
synchronization) between satellite clock and the receiver clock and used to measure the time delay.
In general, the precision of a pseudo range measurement is about 1 percent of its code length (or
resolution). The nominal precision of the P(Y) code pseudo range is therefore, 0.3m and for C/A
code pseudo range it is above 3 m. Besides being more precise, the P(Y) code pseudo range
measurement is more resistant to the effects of multi-path and jamming/interference. Moreover,
since P(Y) code is modulated on both the L1 and L2 signals, the user can obtain pseudo range
measurement at both the frequencies, i.e. the P(Y)-L1 pseudo range and P(Y)-L2 pseudo range, so
that by combining those two measurements it is possible to derive a new pseudo range that is not
affected by ionospheric delay. However due to Anti Spoofing (AS) policy only authorized user
can gain access to the P(Y) code directly to make pseudo range measurement using code
correlation technique. Civilian users have to employ different signal processing technique to make
dual frequency measurements. Apart from receivers used for many GPS surveying applications,
where dual frequency measurements are a pre-requisite for obtaining fast centimetre level accuracy
coordinates, most civilian GPS receiver intended for navigation applications only observe C/A
code pseudo range, and hence are referred to as single frequency navigation receivers.
BROADCAST NAVIGATION MESSAGE
Besides the ranging codes, GPS signals are also modulated with the navigation message. This
contains information such as the satellites orbital data (the so-called broadcast ephemeris) Satellite
almanac data, satellite clock correction parameters, satellite health and constellation status,
 ionospheric model parameters for single frequency users, and the offset between GPS and UTC
(Universal Time Coordinated) time system. The content of the navigation message is continuously
updated by GPS control segment and broadcast to the user by GPS Satellites.
EPHEMERIS
An ephemeris is a list of coordinates defining the orbital position of a satellite at various times. All
GPS measurement processing techniques require the input of ephemeredes for the time span of the
observations in order to determine ground receiver position, either absolute in point positioning
mode or relative when deployed in a differential mode. Ephemeredes can be generally classed
either as post processed or predicted.
THE POST –PROCESSED EPHEMERIS (PRECISE)
The post –processed ephemeris (Precise) are determined after observations are made to the satellite
and is therefore an estimate of the satellite’s position in the period of observations. Tracking data
are acquired from a number of fixed stations and processed in order to obtain the orbit that best
fits the data in a least square sense.
THE BROADCAST EPHEMERIS
The Broadcast Ephemeris which are obtained by extrapolating a post- processed orbit for a few
days into the future, allow real time positioning using pseudo-ranges.
These broadcast ephemerides are generated in two steps –
1. Based on seven days of observations from five Monitor Stations, is generated using highly
sophisticated software package for orbit determination.
2. In the second step (on-line) the discrepancies between the current observation at the Monitor
Stations and the reference ephemeris are derived and corrections to be applied to the reference
ephemeris. Satellite positions estimated in the above process are then represented in the form
of Keplarian elements with additional perturbation parameters. Hence the representation of
satellite trajectory is achieved.
CARRIER WAVES AND CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENTS
The main function of GPS carrier waves L1 and L2 is to carry ‘PRN’ codes and navigation message
to the receiver. The codes and navigation messages are modulated as carrier waves using bi-phase
shift key modulation technique as shown in the following figure 3.

Figure 3: Bi-phase Shift Key Modulation of the GPS Carrier Wave

When the data (code and navigation message) value for a binary bit 0 and it changes to value of 1
(or vice versa 1 to 0) then the carrier phase is shifted by 180°. When there is no change in the
value of adjacent bits then there is no change in the phase.
Phase measurements made on the carrier waves can also be used to derive very precise range
measurements to the satellites, which are sometimes, referred to also as ‘ Phase Ranges’ or ‘Carrier
Ranges’ or simply carrier measurements. For precise GPS applications such as for surveying and
geodesy, carrier phase measurements must be used in place of pseudo ranges.
AMBIGUOUS CARRIER PHASE
The carrier phase measurement is the difference between the reference phase signal (which has the
form of sine wave) generated by the receiver and phase of incoming GPS signal (after stripping
away the code and navigation message modulations) and is in fact a beat signal. The measurement
of phase by a GPS receiver is complicated by the fact that the receiver can not measure directly
the complete range from receiver to the satellite. At the initial epoch of signal acquisition (to)
only the fraction of cycle of beat phase can be measured by the receiver. (One cycle corresponds
to one wavelength of sine wave that is carrier signal without modulation, which for the L1 carrier
wave is 19 cm and L2 is approximately 24 cm). The remaining integer number of cycles to the
satellite can not be measured directly. The unknown integer number of cycles is usually termed
as ‘initial cycle (phase) ambiguity (N)’. Subsequently, the receiver only counts the number of
integer cycles that are being tracked. As long as there is no loss – of – lock of tracking of the
satellite in value of N remains a constant.
The phase measurement at a certain epoch ti i.e. f (ti), is therefore equal to the fractional phase (Fr)
at that epoch augmented with number of full cycles ‘counted’ (Int) since to

The above equation indicates that the GPS carrier phase measurement (when expressed in length
units) is not true or absolute range from receiver to the satellite, as in the case of pseudo range, but
is an ambiguous range. There is an unobserved part of the range caused by initial cycle ambiguity
of the phase as illustrated in the following figure. In order to convert this ambiguous range into a
true range, the cycle ambiguity N has to be estimated. If the value of the cycle ambiguity can be
correctly estimated, then the resultant carrier range will be transformed into a very precise range
measurement and can be used for high precision positioning. However, the carrier range has the
opposite ionospheric effect to the regular pseudo range. Correctly estimating value of the integer
cycle ambiguity is not an easy task. This computation is referred to as ambiguity resolution.

Figure 4: Carrier Phase Range Measurement

GPS SIGNAL PROPAGATION
In its propagation from the satellite to the observer’s antenna the signal has to travel through
several layers of the atmosphere. Due to the refraction inside the ionosphere and ionospheric
layers, the speed and direction of signal will be affected and in turn the measured pseudo ranges
and carrier phase will be biased. In addition, signal propagation may be influenced by other
phenomenon such as intentional or accidental interference due to multipath and jamming.
IONOSPHERIC AND TROPOSPHERIC DELAY
The ionosphere will affect the speed, frequency, direction and polarization of GPS signals, as well
as cause amplitude and phase scintillation. By far the largest effect will be on speed of the signals,
which will directly affect the carrier range and pseudo range measurements to the satellite. The
ionosphere will delay the code measurement (the pseudo range) and advance the signal phase (the
carrier range), by the same amount.
The slant range error caused by the ionosphere can be up to about 100m, and its magnitude is
dependent on factors such as the time of the day (the ionosphere is quieter at night), latitude of the
observer, time of the year, period within the 11 year sunspot cycle (the highest ionospheric activity
for the current cycle was in 2001), elevation angle to the satellite, and frequency of the signal. The
estimated maximum rate of change of ionospheric propagation delay is about 19 cm/s, which
correspond to about 1 cycle on L1. Very rapidly changing ionospheric condition can cause losses
of lock, especially on L2 frequency under AS. When dual frequency observations are available, a
linear combination of measurements made on L1 and L2 can be constructed that eliminates the first
order ionospheric delay.
The troposphere will also affect the speed and direction of GPS signals, as well as cause some
attenuation of the signal. As with the ionosphere, the largest effect will be on speed of signal and,
in this case, the troposphere will delay both the code and phase measurements by the same
amount. The tropospheric delay effects are of the order of 2 – 25m, a minimum in the vertical
direction and becoming larger as the elevation angle of the signal reduces down to the
horizon. Both wet and dry components of the troposphere contribute to the delay, with the former
being most difficult to estimate. The troposphere is only 10 km thick, hence signal reaching high
altitude points will have less troposphere to travel through, and hence will experience less
tropospheric delay.
MULTIPATH EFFECTS
In addition, the GPS signal can experience multipath, a phenomenon in which a signal arrive at
antenna via two or more paths, that is a direct signal and one or more reflected signals. The signals
will interfere with each other and the resultant signal will cause error in pseudo range and carrier
phase measurement. The range errors caused by multipath will vary depending on relative
geometry of the satellites, reflecting surface and GPS antenna; and also the properties and
dynamics of the reflecting surface. In case of carrier phase, multipath effect can be up to 5 cm,
i.e. 0.25 cycles of wave length; while for pseudo ranges it can be many tens of meters.

Figure 5: Multipath Reflections

Multipath is considered one of the limiting factors to improvements in GPS carrier phase based
positioning ‘productivity’. That is, the presence of multipath disturbance impacts on the reliability
of ambiguity resolution, particularly when observation sessions are very short. Hence strategies
must be implemented that deal with such eventualities, such as making extra (redundant) surveys
of the same point. It should also be noted here that in order to be used for positioning the signal
transmitted by the satellites has to reach the GPS antenna. If the satellite signal is blocked by
Topography, foliage or other structures than measurements cannot be made. GPs positioning
therefore cannot be performed in tunnels, in door or under water. In areas with many high rising
buildings and tall trees that can obstruct the signal reception from satellite, it can also be expected
that positioning with GPS will be less optimal technique than in relative open areas. There are a
few strategies that can be used to overcome the signal obstruction problem. The obvious one is
to choose a location for the antenna site that has the clearest visibility to the sky citing of antennas
near sources of microwave radiation is to be avoided wherever possible so as to minimize the
chances of accidental jamming of the GPS signal.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcGIS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_GPS
http://www.gisresources.com/fundamentals-of-gps-signal-and-data_2/