On the potential contribution of BeiDou-3 to the realization of the terrestrial reference frame scale

Zajdel, Radosław; Bury, Grzegorz; Sośnica, Krzysztof

doi:10.1007/s10291-022-01298-0

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…These differences have remained elusive in SLR analysis due to the lack of observations. The previous studies of the individual BDS-3 MEO satellites show that we may distinguish more groups of satellites than reported by CSNO, e.g., based on the patterns in the ECOM parameters (Zajdel et al 2022) or estimated phase center patterns (Huang et al 2023). To enhance our understanding of BDS-3, particularly regarding orbit modeling issues, SLR measurements covering the whole BDS-3 constellation were crucially required for performing the so-called SLR orbit validation to better characterize the BDS-3 constellation and to remove remaining deficiencies in the modeling of orbit dynamics.…”

Section: Frontiers In Bds-3 Orbit Modelingmentioning

confidence: 70%

Satellite laser ranging to BeiDou-3 satellites: initial performance and contribution to orbit model improvement

Zajdel,

Nowak,

Sośnica

2024

GPS Solut

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In January 2023, the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) approved the tracking of 20 additional BeiDou-3 Medium Earth Orbit (BDS-3 MEO) satellites, integrating them into the ILRS tracking network. Before that, only 4 BDS-3 MEO satellites had been tracked. BDS satellites employ highly advanced GNSS components and technological solutions; however, microwave-based orbits still contain systematic errors. Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) tracking is thus crucial for better identification and understanding of orbit modeling issues. Orbit improvements are necessary to consider BDS in future realizations of terrestrial reference frames, supporting the determination of global geodetic parameters and utilizing them for the co-location of GNSS and SLR in space. In this study, we summarize the first 6 months of SLR tracking 24 BDS-3 MEO satellites. The study indicates that the ILRS network effectively executed the request to track the entire BDS-3 MEO constellation. The number of observations is approximately 1300 and 450 for high- and low-priority BDS-3 satellites, respectively, over the 6 months. More than half of the SLR observations to BDS-3 MEO satellites were provided by 5 out of the 24 laser stations, which actively measured GNSS targets. For 14 out of 24 BDS-3 MEO satellites, the standard deviation of SLR residuals is at the level of 19–20 mm, which is comparable with the quality of the state-of-the-art Galileo orbit solutions. However, the SLR validation of the individual satellites revealed that the BDS-3 MEO constellation consists of more ambiguous groups of satellites than originally reported in the official metadata files distributed by the BDS operators. For 8 BDS-3 satellites, the quality of the orbits is noticeably inferior with a standard deviation of SLR residuals above 100 mm. Therefore, improving orbit modeling for BDS-3 MEO satellites remains an urgent challenge for the GNSS community.

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Section: Frontiers In Bds-3 Orbit Modelingmentioning

confidence: 70%

Satellite laser ranging to BeiDou-3 satellites: initial performance and contribution to orbit model improvement

Zajdel,

Nowak,

Sośnica

2024

GPS Solut

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“…ITRF2014 is 1.4 ppb at the epoch of 1st January 2018. The information about the satellite phase center calibrations, which have been published in 2019 by CSNO (China Satellite Navigation Office) for the Bei-Dou satellites, opened up a space for the second GNSS able to provide an independent realization of the terrestrial reference frame scale (Zajdel et al 2022). However, some results indicate that the scales derived with Bei-Dou-released and Galileo-released satellite phase center calibrations are not consistent, and the bias between both reaches 1.8 ppb (Qu et al 2021).…”

Section: Improvements In the Itrf Geocenter And Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

GENESIS: co-location of geodetic techniques in space

Delva

Altamimi

Blazquez

et al. 2023

Earth Planets Space

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Improving and homogenizing time and space reference systems on Earth and, more specifically, realizing the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) with an accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm/year are relevant for many scientific and societal endeavors. The knowledge of the TRF is fundamental for Earth and navigation sciences. For instance, quantifying sea level change strongly depends on an accurate determination of the geocenter motion but also of the positions of continental and island reference stations, such as those located at tide gauges, as well as the ground stations of tracking networks. Also, numerous applications in geophysics require absolute millimeter precision from the reference frame, as for example monitoring tectonic motion or crustal deformation, contributing to a better understanding of natural hazards. The TRF accuracy to be achieved represents the consensus of various authorities, including the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), which has enunciated geodesy requirements for Earth sciences. Moreover, the United Nations Resolution 69/266 states that the full societal benefits in developing satellite missions for positioning and Remote Sensing of the Earth are realized only if they are referenced to a common global geodetic reference frame at the national, regional and global levels. Today we are still far from these ambitious accuracy and stability goals for the realization of the TRF. However, a combination and co-location of all four space geodetic techniques on one satellite platform can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. This is the purpose of the GENESIS mission, a component of the FutureNAV program of the European Space Agency. The GENESIS platform will be a dynamic space geodetic observatory carrying all the geodetic instruments referenced to one another through carefully calibrated space ties. The co-location of the techniques in space will solve the inconsistencies and biases between the different geodetic techniques in order to reach the TRF accuracy and stability goals endorsed by the various international authorities and the scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art and explain the benefits of the GENESIS mission in Earth sciences, navigation sciences and metrology. This paper has been written and supported by a large community of scientists from many countries and working in several different fields of science, ranging from geophysics and geodesy to time and frequency metrology, navigation and positioning. As it is explained throughout this paper, there is a very high scientific consensus that the GENESIS mission would deliver exemplary science and societal benefits across a multidisciplinary range of Navigation and Earth sciences applications, constituting a global infrastructure that is internationally agreed to be strongly desirable. Graphical Abstract

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“…As a one-way measurement system, GNSS station heights are strongly correlated with the receiver clock and other parameters. Most notably, the long-standing lack of absolute phase center calibrations for GNSS satellite transmit antennas has, until recently (Villiger et al 2020;Zajdel et al 2022), inhibited the use of GNSS observations for TRF scale determination. Instead, phase center offsets (PCOs) of GNSS satellite antennas had to be estimated from observations of a global network to align GNSS station heights with the TRF scale derived 0123456789().…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Villiger et al (2020) study the impact of manufacturer calibrated Galileo transmit antenna PCOs and demonstrate a 6.4 mm offset in station height, i.e., a 1 ppb scale difference, compared to the scale of ITRF2014 (Altamimi et al 2016), when working with chamber-based receiver antenna calibrations for the Galileo frequencies. In a similar context, Xia et al (2020) and Zajdel et al (2022) analyze the consistency of manufacturer calibrated BeiDou-3 transmit antennas with the ITRF2014 reference frame for different signal combinations. More specifically, Zajdel et al (2022) obtain a ratio of −0.052 between estimated station heights and PCO shifts of the BeiDou-3 MEO satellites, which is close to and even slightly larger by magnitude than the value derived by Zhu et al (2003) for GPS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a similar context, Xia et al (2020) and Zajdel et al (2022) analyze the consistency of manufacturer calibrated BeiDou-3 transmit antennas with the ITRF2014 reference frame for different signal combinations. More specifically, Zajdel et al (2022) obtain a ratio of −0.052 between estimated station heights and PCO shifts of the BeiDou-3 MEO satellites, which is close to and even slightly larger by magnitude than the value derived by Zhu et al (2003) for GPS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the relation of GNSS phase center offsets and the terrestrial reference frame scale: a semi-analytical analysis

Montenbruck

Steigenberger

Villiger

et al. 2022

J Geod

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Phase center offsets (PCOs) of global navigation satellites systems (GNSS) transmit antennas along the boresight axis introduce line-of-sight-dependent range changes in the modeling of GNSS observations that are strongly correlated with the estimated station heights. As a consequence, changes in the adopted PCOs impact the scale of GNSS-based realizations of the terrestrial reference frame (TRF). Vice versa, changes in the adopted TRF scale require corrections to the GNSS transmit antenna PCOs for consistent observation modeling. Early studies have determined an approximate value of $$\alpha =-0.050$$ α = - 0.050 for the ratio of station height changes and satellite PCO changes in GPS orbit determination and phase center adjustment. However, this is mainly an empirical value and limited information is available on the actual PCO-scale relation and how it is influenced by other factors. In view of the recurring need to adjust the IGS antenna models to new ITRF scales, a semi-analytical model is developed to determine values of $$\alpha $$ α for the four current GNSSs from first principles without a need for actual network data processing. Given the close coupling of satellite boresight angle and station zenith angle, satellite PCO changes are essentially compensated by a combination of station height, zenith troposphere delay, and receiver clock offset. As such, the value of $$\alpha $$ α depends not only on the orbital altitude of the considered GNSS but also on the elevation-dependent distribution of GNSS observations and their weighting, as well as the elevation mask angle and the tropospheric mapping function. Based on the model, representative values of $$\alpha _\text {GPS}=-0.051$$ α GPS = - 0.051 , $$\alpha _\text {GLO}=-0.055$$ α GLO = - 0.055 , $$\alpha _\text {GAL}=-0.041$$ α GAL = - 0.041 , and $$\alpha _\text {BDS-3}=-0.046$$ α BDS-3 = - 0.046 are derived for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou-3 at a $$10^\circ $$ 10 ∘ elevation cutoff angle. These values may vary by $$\varDelta \alpha \approx 0.003$$ Δ α ≈ 0.003 depending on the specific model assumptions and data processing parameters in a precise orbit determination or precise point positioning. Likewise changes of about $$\pm 0.003$$ ± 0.003 can be observed when varying the cutoff angle between $$5^\circ $$ 5 ∘ and $$15^\circ $$ 15 ∘ .

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On the potential contribution of BeiDou-3 to the realization of the terrestrial reference frame scale

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

Satellite laser ranging to BeiDou-3 satellites: initial performance and contribution to orbit model improvement

Satellite laser ranging to BeiDou-3 satellites: initial performance and contribution to orbit model improvement

GENESIS: co-location of geodetic techniques in space

On the relation of GNSS phase center offsets and the terrestrial reference frame scale: a semi-analytical analysis

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