Combining Time Transfer Measurements Using a Kalman Filter

J.A. Davis, P.W. Stacey, P.M. Harris, M.G. Cox

Abstract:	Time transfer measurements made between UTC (k) timing laboratories are routinely performed using a variety of satellite-based methods. The National Physical Laboratory has undertaken a study of combining time transfer measurements from separate links between two laboratories, where each link measures the same clock difference. The aim is to produce a time series of (composite) time-transfer measurements that has appreciably less measurement noise than any of the component measurements. A Kalman filter is used to combine the measurements. The method is developed to treat some of the known characteristics of satellite time transfer measurements. These include time series having different measurement intervals, and slowly changing delays occurring within the time transfer hardware. The treatment of missing data and the addition and removal of individual links are also examined.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 34th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting December 3 - 5, 2002 Hyatt Regency Reston Town Center Reston, Virginia
Pages:	53 - 68
Cite this article:	Davis, J.A., Stacey, P.W., Harris, P.M., Cox, M.G., "Combining Time Transfer Measurements Using a Kalman Filter," Proceedings of the 34th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Reston, Virginia, December 2002, pp. 53-68.
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