GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM [GPS]

TOPICS:
1. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM 2. LAUNCH HISTORY 3. NAVSTAR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM -SPACE SEGMENT -CONTROL SEGMENT -USER SEGMENT 4. BLOCK I SATELLITES 5. BLOCK II SATELITES 6. BLOCK IIR SATELLITES 7. FIXING POSITON 8. RECEIVER DESIGN 9. GPS ERRORS AND LIMITATIONS 10.GPS TECHNIQUES AND PROJECT COSTS.

A SEMINAR ON

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM(GPS)

In 1961 studies were put in hand in the USA for a Satellite Navigation System that would be suitable for both marine and air use ,under the title of The Defence Navigation Satellite System.Although the Transit system was already in partial operation ,its limited usability,particularly for aircraft,was recognised and the need for a more comprehensive system was seen.There were two main objectives of the new system: 1.PRECISION WEAPON DELIVERY 2.A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

r LAUNCH HISTORY
GPS satellites ,like all other satellites ,are allocated an international scientific designator of the form year;number in year of the launch;piece of launch;eg.198726b,indicating the second object that was launched by launch number 26 in 1987.the US DoD lists them serially in order of production as Navstar numbers,and then by reference to the PR code they use.The Block I satellites had different Navstar and PR numbers,which led to some confusion ,so in the Block II units this was rationalised as far as possible by allocating the same numbers for both Navstar and PR.This could only be maintained upto PRN 32 ,since the system only allows for 32 PRN numbers,so subsequent satellies have had to revert to different Navstar and PR numbers.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense.

What is GPS?

The GPS satellite system

The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour. GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994. Each satellite is built to last about 7-10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit. A GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended. Transmitter power is only 50 watts or less.

NAVSTAR Global Positioning System

The NAVSTAR GPS has three functional elements: a space segment, a control segment , and a user segment (the airborne receivers)

SPACE SEGMENT
The Space Segment of the system consists of the GPS satellites. These space vehicles (SVs) send radio signals from space. The space segment consists of a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the earth at an altitude of just over 20,200 km(10,900 nm) in six strategically defined orbital planes. Three of the satellites are operating as spares with the remaining 21 in the constellation sufficient to provide global navigation coverage.The objective of the GPS satellite configuration is to provide a window of at least 5 satellites in view from any point on earth. The satellites orbit at an inclination angle of 55*,taking approximately 12 hours to complete an orbit.The orbital position of each satellite is known precisely each time. NOTE:The GPS space segment consists of so-called Block II and IIA satellites(as in 1995) and upgraded versions known as Block IIR satellites.

-CONTROL SEGMENT
The controlling authority is the United States Department of Defence.By letter of agreement between the United States Government and,the International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO),civilian access via the C/A code only is permitted on a no-cost basis for the foreseeable future. The control segment include monitoring stations at various locations around the world.Ground antennas and up-links,and a master station.The station track all satellites in view passing information to a master control station which controls the satellites clock and orbit states,and the currency of navigation messages. Satellites are frequently updated with new data for compilation of the navigation messages transmitted to system users.Assuming the current level of space vehicle technology ,the planned lifespan of a GPS satellite is around 7-8 years.

-USER SEGMENT(THE RECEIVER)

As previously mentioned ,the receiver identifies each satellite being received by its unique pseudo-random code,i.e the C/A-code for civilian operations.It then starts to receive and process navigation information . From this information and stored almanac data ,the receiver determines which satellites should be in view and then searches for their respective C/A-codes.It then establishes ranges to the satellites and by knowing their position ,computes aitcraft position ,velocity and time.This process is known as pseudo-ranging. Synchronized high-precision atomic clocks in the satellites are used to establish the time interval which is latter used for range determination.

BLOCK I(Test and Development) Satellites

As already mentioned ,the first GPS navigation signals were broadcast from NTS-2 in June 1977,continuing until it failed in February 1978.The construction of 4 pre-operational GPS satellites ,known as Block I series and built by Rockwell. Two more satellites were then authorised and in 1980 5(1980-11A) and 6(1980-32A) were sucessfully launched. By then,6 more had been ordered,but Navstar 7 was destroyed on lift-off through a launcher failure in Dec1981.The others were launched between 1983-1985. Initial testing was done using ground transmitters available from the Project 621B trials and linking real satellites with them as they were launched.When 4 satellites were in orbit the ground system was decommissioned.

BLOCK II(First Operational Series)

The Block II satellites were designed as the first operational series and are considerably bigger and heavier than the Block Is-846 kgs v. 450 kgs. They incorporate the ability to selectively provide different levels of accuracy as well as many detail improvements,including a design life of 7 years as against the 5 years of Block I.In the interests of lower costs a single contract for building of 28 satellites was awarded to Rockwell in 1984. It was decided in 1987 to launch BIIs only on the revised Mcdonnell Douglas Delta II launcher. Some of the later Block II satellites ,designated Block IIA,incorporate changes in the navigational payload and have some additional facilities.

BLOCK IIR SERIES.

Block IIR are the replacements for Block II,with several new features.A contract for 20,with options for 6 more ,was let to Martin Marietta(formerly GE-Astro) in June 1989,for deliveries starting in 1995. Amongst their new features will be the ability to function for up to 180 days with upload from the ground,and increased radiation hardening. In order to achieve the 180 day autonomous capability,they will be able to communicate with each other for orbitdetermination purposes. The procurement of these BIIR satellites means that the future operation of GPS is assured. Going by past history many of the satellites will exceed 7 years life.

FIXING POSITION
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the unit's electronic map. Timing errors are detected and eliminated by the receivers computer. Receivers computer senses this and immediately begins a trimming process until it arrives at an answer which allows all ranges to arrive at the one and only position possible.This process automatically eliminates the effect of receiver clock error for subsequent tracking and position fixing.

RECEIVER DESIGN
The capability of making range calculations to 3,4 or more satellites has an impact on the design,cost and accuracy of GPS receivers,i.e. whether they are single channel receivers operating sequentially or the more expensive and accurate receivers providing multiple channels operating simultaneously. GPS receivers approved as a supplemental or primary means navigation aid have multiple channels and come under the provisions of an FAA Technical Service Order(TSO C129). IFR/primary navigation certification specifications for GPS equipment include a requirement for multiple receiver channels and a navigation integrity monitoring system known as Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring(RAIM).

GPS ERRORS AND LIMITATIONS

Receiver clock errors A receiver's built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very slight timing errors. Orbital errors Also known as ephemeris errors, these are inaccuracies of the satellite's reported location. Multi-path error This occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors.

GPS ERRORS AND LIMITATIONS

Contd..1
Ionospheric Propagation Effects The ionosphere ,which we know is a band of charged particles which lies between 80 and 120 miles above the surface of the earth,affects the propagation speed and the travel time of the GPS signals thereby degrading the accuracy of the position solution.Ionospheric propagation effects can be offset by the receiver with data received from the satellites. Tropospheric Propagation Effects The lower region of the atmosphere ,the troposphere ,contains significant amount of water vapour.The effect of this is to low down the satellite signals,thus inducing ranging errors.This tends to degrade position accuracy. The GPS system uses a built-in model that calculates an average amount of delay to partially correct for this type of error.

GPS ERRORS AND LIMITATIONS

Contd2
Interference
Because GPS signals are relatively weak ,harmful interference can cause significant degradation in navigation or complete loss of navigation capability.With more and more extensive use of all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum,the potential for interference problems to occur has increased.The trend is likely to continue.To offset these problems,appropriate mitigation techniques and shielding systems are employed.

Number of satellites visible

The more satellites a GPS receiver can "see," the better the accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all.

GPS Techniques and Project Costs

Receiver costs vary depending on capabilities. Receivers that can store files for post-procesing with base station files cost more ($2000-5000). Receivers that can act as DGPS reference receivers (computing and providing correction data) and carrier phase tracking receivers (and two are often required) can cost many thousands of dollars ($5,000 to $40,000). Military PPS receivers may cost more or be difficult to obtain. Project tasks can often be categorized by required accuracies which will determine equipment cost.
Low-cost, single-receiver SPS projects (100 meter accuracy) Medium-cost, differential SPS code Positioning (110 meter accuracy) High-cost, single-receiver PPS projects (20 meter accuracy) High-cost, differential carrier phase surveys (1 mm to 1 cm accuracy)

THANK YOU
SEMINAR PRESENTED BY:
SHILADITYA BHOWMICK A.M.Ae.S.I SEC-B(AVIONICS) nickshail@msn.com