LION Navigator-GPS/Galileo Receiver for Spacecraft Navigation

Eveline Gottzein, Christopher Kuehl, Hannes Filippi, Andres Barrios-Montalvo, Peter A. Krauss, Jens Heim

Abstract:	The paper summarizes how recent developments in the field of satellite navigation generate new opportunities for use of satellite navigation in space. It describes the development of a next generation GPS/Galileo receiver to use these innovations. In particular the potential to determine autonomously and in real-time the position, velocity and time (PVT) with high accuracy onboard of the spacecraft has many applications. Examples are autonomous orbit maintenance to simplify satellite operation and onboard autonomous Image Navigation and Registration (INR) to improve the availability and quality of products in Earth Observation missions. The motivation and basis for the development work reported in this publication are threefold: 1. The extension of GPS Signal In Space (SIS) guaranty by the Space Service Volume (SSV) starting with GPSIII for signals L1, L2, and L5,[7], [8]. A similar extension is proposed for Galileo [9]. 2. New innovative civil signals of GPS and the Galileo constellations (pilot signals, higher chipping and data rates, etc.) 3.GPS/Galileo interoperability and compatibility as laid down in the US-EU Agreement on GPS/Galileo Cooperation [13]. To use the above described features for real-time onboard autonomous navigation of spacecraft, a next generation navigation receiver is developed at Astrium, the LION Navigator. It will use all future open signals of GPS and Galileo in the E1/L1, L2, and E5/L5 bands. The goal is to reach sub-meter absolute position accuracy in low Earth orbits, and an accuracy of ~100m (rms) for satellites in geosynchronous orbits. The paper describes development steps of the LION Navigator HW and SW and discusses results from performance tests for satellites in Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and Geostationary Orbits (GEO) orbits. By using the combination of new GPS and Galileo signals (E5a/L1 and/or E5a/L5), considerable improvements in accuracy and availability in comparison to GPS L1 only is achieved.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2011) September 20 - 23, 2011 Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon Portland, OR
Pages:	2754 - 2766
Cite this article:	Gottzein, Eveline, Kuehl, Christopher, Filippi, Hannes, Barrios-Montalvo, Andres, Krauss, Peter A., Heim, Jens, "LION Navigator-GPS/Galileo Receiver for Spacecraft Navigation," Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2011), Portland, OR, September 2011, pp. 2754-2766.
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