MicroGPS for Orbit Determination of Earth Satellites

Sien-Chong Wu, Willy Bertiger, Jeff Srinivasan, Angie Reichert

Abstract:	This paper presents a new technology for satellite orbit determination using a simple GPS receiver (microGPS) with ultra-low cost, power and mass. Simulations and analytical performance analyses show that the microGPS instrument should be able to provide position knowledge to 200-m for a low-Earth orbiter while consuming less than 0.05 watt average power. To keep the power consumption extremely low, the microGPS space receiver samples GPS signals sparsely - as few as several millisec-long samples per orbit. Different data processing configurations are discussed, including after-the-fact orbit analysis in a ground processor, and real-time analysis with a processor onboard the satellite. Higher orbit accuracy can be achieved sampling the GPS data more frequently (and thereby increasing power consumption). The microGPS space receiver is also capable of determining its location from a cold start in orbit with only very coarse a priori information about its nominal position. In the long term, microGPS could be used in a fully autonomous onboard navigation system.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1996 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 1996 Loews Santa Monica Hotel Santa Monica, CA
Pages:	509 - 516
Cite this article:	Wu, Sien-Chong, Bertiger, Willy, Srinivasan, Jeff, Reichert, Angie, "MicroGPS for Orbit Determination of Earth Satellites," Proceedings of the 1996 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Santa Monica, CA, January 1996, pp. 509-516.
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