Measuring the Timing Accuracy of Satellite Time and Location (STL) Receivers

Peter B. Johnson, Andrew N. Novick, Michael A. Lombardi

Abstract:	We present measurements of the timing accuracy and stability of Satellite Time and Location (STL) receivers with respect to UTC(NIST), the coordinated universal time scale (UTC) operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Operated by Satelles, STL is a timing and location service that utilizes the Iridium constellation of 66 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The service is available globally and resilient to regional outages of the Global Positioning System (GPS). We demonstrate that a typical STL receiver with an oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) can provide a stable output pulse with an average time offset near 10 ns and a maximum time offset of less than 200 ns with respect to UTC(NIST). We also present measurements of an STL receiver with a local rubidium oscillator that demonstrates improved short-term stability and a maximum time offset of less than 75 ns.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 54th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting January 23 - 26, 2023 Hyatt Regency Long Beach Long Beach, California
Pages:	207 - 215
Cite this article:	Johnson, Peter B., Novick, Andrew N., Lombardi, Michael A., "Measuring the Timing Accuracy of Satellite Time and Location (STL) Receivers," Proceedings of the 54th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Long Beach, California, January 2023, pp. 207-215. https://doi.org/10.33012/2023.18694
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