Plasmaspheric Correction with Global Core Plasma Model (GCPM) for GPS-Based GEO Precise Orbit Determination

Takehiro Matsumoto, Takushi Sakamoto, Ayano Nakajima, Kiyoshi Hamada, Shinichi Nakamura

Abstract:	The global positioning system (GPS) observations received by a geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite are contaminated by the ionospheric delay as the signals pass through the plasmasphere located above the ionosphere, and these affected observations contribute to the degradation of the accuracy of precise orbit determination (POD), especially causing a systematic negative bias in radial direction. In a previous study, we showed that the POD performance of the optical data relay satellite (ODRS) can be improved by applying the correction sequence method. However, it is impossible to completely remove the radial bias using this method because the correction sequence is generated from the orbit determination residuals scattered around the estimated orbit, which is already biased by the plasmaspheric delay. In this study, we make use of the global core plasma model (GCPM) to correct the plasmaspheric delay. The GCPM is an empirical model that provides the total electron density in the plasmasphere as a function of geomagnetic and solar conditions. The POD performance with the GCPM is evaluated from two perspectives: the internal orbit consistency and the systematic orbit bias in radial direction. The averaged 3D RMS value of the overlap differences is improved from 86.8 cm to 73.7 cm by applying the GCPM correction. The most important effect of the GCPM on the POD performance is that it can significantly reduce the systematic orbit bias in radial direction due to the plasmaspheric delay. With the GCPM being applied, the mean value of the radial bias is reduced from -56.5 cm to -18.6 cm. While the correction sequence method can only be applied to a GEO satellite, the GCPM can be applied to any mission regardless of its orbit and it is expected to improve the POD performance of future missions in different types of orbits such as GTO, MTO, and the lunar orbit.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 36th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2023) September 11 - 15, 2023 Hyatt Regency Denver Denver, Colorado
Pages:	1487 - 1498
Cite this article:	Matsumoto, Takehiro, Sakamoto, Takushi, Nakajima, Ayano, Hamada, Kiyoshi, Nakamura, Shinichi, "Plasmaspheric Correction with Global Core Plasma Model (GCPM) for GPS-Based GEO Precise Orbit Determination," Proceedings of the 36th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2023), Denver, Colorado, September 2023, pp. 1487-1498. https://doi.org/10.33012/2023.19372
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