Hardware Simulation of Low-Earth-Orbit GNSS for Carrier Phase Ambiguity Resolution

Claire Mah and Kyle O'Keefe

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper details a hardware in-the-loop simulation of single frequency RTK positioning for GPS augmented with low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites to demonstrate how carrier phase ambiguity resolution is impacted by LEO satellites. Ambiguity resolution is dependent on satellite geometry and therefore benefits from how fast the geometry of LEO satellites changes. Findings include an average improvement of 29% in the time taken for the probability of correct fix to reach a threshold of 99.9999% in a scenario simulated with only one added LEO satellite, compared to GPS only. The LEO satellites were found to have the strongest impact on scenarios with poor initial GPS geometry but still improved the convergence times in all test cases. Additionally, some common GNSS equipment and tools are shown to be capable of handling simulated LEO satellites for research and testing purposes.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025) September 8 - 12, 2025 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Maryland
Pages:	2431 - 2443
Cite this article:	Mah, Claire, O'Keefe, Kyle, "Hardware Simulation of Low-Earth-Orbit GNSS for Carrier Phase Ambiguity Resolution," Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2025, pp. 2431-2443. https://doi.org/10.33012/2025.20331
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