Ionospheric Electron Density Profiles from Single-Frequency GPS Tracking of Sounding Rockets

Oliver Montenbruck, Markus Markgraf and Günter Schmitt

Abstract:	This report describes the experimental derivation of a vertical electron density profile from single frequency GPS measurements collected during the Maxus-5 sounding rocket. The analysis is based on C/A pseudorange and L1 carrier phase measurements collected between altitudes of 100 km and 700 km. Due to the dispersive nature of the ionosphere the carrier phase measurements experience a phase advance that equals the magnitude of the range delay but is of opposite sign. The difference between code and carrier phase can thus be used to infer the ionospheric path delay and its variation with altitude. In view of the moderate pseudorange accuracy of the employed GPS Orion receiver and the small total electron content at high northern latitudes, measurements had to be averaged over consecutive 50 km altitude bins. The resulting profile shows a maximum between 300 km and 400 km and a peak density of about 2·1011e-/m3. Despite its limited accuracy, the method is of interest for high altitude sounding rocket flights, since it can provide complementary information for atmospheric science at little to no extra cost. For optimum science return, however, the use of dual frequency receivers with suitable dynamical limits would be highly desirable in future sounding rocket missions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2004 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 28, 2004 The Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	746 - 752
Cite this article:	Montenbruck, Oliver, Markgraf, Markus, Schmitt, Günter, "Ionospheric Electron Density Profiles from Single-Frequency GPS Tracking of Sounding Rockets," Proceedings of the 2004 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 2004, pp. 746-752.
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