Single and Double Difference Carrier Phase Navigation for LEO Satellites

Landon Boyd, Alex Rist, David M. Bevly

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	With new advances in the realm of LEO navigation, this paper aims to explore precise-positioning benefits that can be gained from augmenting traditional GNSS positioning with LEO satellite information. Specifically, two navigation filters are tested with LEO assistance: a traditional RTK navigator and a new single difference (SD) carrier phase navigator. These two techniques are qualitatively assessed and compared, with particular emphasis on convergence time and steady state accuracy. Two simulations, one measurement-level and one signal-level, validate the proposed method’s ability to precisely position a rover in the vicinity of a base station receiver. The results demonstrate the potential of LEO satellites to improve traditional RTK implementations by lowering the time to first integer fixing. Additionally, the high relative dynamics of LEO satellites relative to the user-base pair enables the use of SD carrier phase for baseline estimation.
Published in:	Proceedings of the ION 2026 Pacific PNT Meeting April 13 - 16, 2026 Hilton Waikiki Beach Honolulu, Hawaii
Pages:	682 - 693
Cite this article:	Boyd, Landon, Rist, Alex, Bevly, David M., "Single and Double Difference Carrier Phase Navigation for LEO Satellites," Proceedings of the ION 2026 Pacific PNT Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2026, pp. 682-693. https://doi.org/10.33012/2026.20573
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