02/20/02 12.540 Lec 05 1
12.540 Principles of the Global
Positioning System
Lecture 05
Prof. Thomas Herring
02/20/02 12.540 Lec 05 2
Satellite Orbits
? Treat the basic description and dynamics of
satellite orbits
? Major perturbations on GPS satellite orbits
? Sources of orbit information:
– SP3 format from the International GPS service
– Broadcast ephemeris message
? Accuracy of orbits and health of satellites
? Logistics: Who can attend lecture on Fridays
at 11-12:30?
02/20/02 12.540 Lec 05 3
Dynamics of satellite orbits
? Basic dynamics is described by F=Ma where
the force, F, is composed of gravitational
forces, radiation pressure (drag is negligible
for GPS), and thruster firings (not directly
modeled).
? Basic orbit behavior is given by
Y Y r =?
GM
e
r
3
r
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Simple dynamics
?GM
e
= μ = 3986006x10
8
m
3
s
-2
? The analytical solution to the central force
model is a Keplerian orbit. For GPS these are
elliptical orbits.
? Mean motion, n, in terms of period P is given
by
? For GPS semimajor axis a ~ 26400km
n =
2π
P
=
μ
a
3
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Solution for central force model
? This class of force model generates orbits that
are conic sections. We will deal only with
closed elliptical orbits.
? The orbit plane stays fixed in space
? One of the foci of the ellipse is the center of
mass of the body
? These orbits are described Keplerian
elements
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Keplerain elements: Orbit plane
Node
i
ω
?
ν
Z
θ
0
Greenwich
Vernal
equinox
Satellite
perigee
equator
i Inclination
? Right Ascension of ascending node
ω Argument of perigee
ν True anomaly
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Keplerain elements in plane
a
Focus
Center of Mass
ae
Satellite
Perigee
Apogee
b
E ν
r
a semimajor axis
b semiminor axis
e eccentricity
ν True anomaly
E Eccentric anomaly
M Mean anomaly
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Satellite motion
? The motion of the satellite in its orbit is given
by
?T
o
is time of perigee
M (t)= n(t ?T
0
)
E(t)= M (t)+esin E(t)
ν(t)= tan
?1
1?e
2
sin E(t)/(1?ecos E(t))
(cos E(t)?e)/(1?ecos E(t))
?
?
?
?
?
?
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True anomaly
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
x 10
4
-0.25
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Difference between true
anomaly and Mean anomaly
for e 0.001-0.100
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Eccentric anomaly
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x 10
4
-0.25
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Difference between eccentric
anomaly and Mean anomaly
for e 0.001-0.100
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Vector to satellite
? At a specific time past perigee; compute Mean
anomaly; solve Kepler’s equation to get
Eccentric anomaly and then compute true
anomaly. See Matlab/truea.m
?Vector r in orbit frame is
r = a
cos E ?e
1?e
2
sin E
?
?
?
?
?
?
= r
cosν
sinν
?
?
?
?
?
?
r = a(1?ecos E)=
a(1?e
2
)
1+ecosν
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Final conversion to Earth Fixed XYZ
? Vector r is in satellite orbit frame
? To bring to inertial space coordinates or Earth
fixed coordinates, use
? This basically the method used to compute
positions from the broadcast ephemeris
r
i
= R
3
(??)R
1
(?i)R
3
(?ω)r
r
e
= R
3
(??+θ)R
1
(?i)R
3
(?ω)r
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Perturbed motions
? The central force is the main force acting on the GPS
satellites, but there are other significant perturbations.
? Historically, there was a great deal of work on analytic
expressions for these perturbations e.g. Lagrange
planetary equations which gave expressions for rates
of change of orbital elements as function of disturbing
potential
? Today: Orbits are numerically integrated although
some analytic work on form of disturbing forces.
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Perturbation from Flattening J
2
? The J
2
perturbation can be computed from the
Lagrange planetary equations
Y
? =?
3
2
na
e
2
cosi
a
2
(1?e
2
)
2
J
2
Y ω =
3
4
na
e
2
5 cos
2
i?1
a
2
(1?e
2
)
2
J
2
Y
M = n+
3
4
na
e
2
3cos
2
i?1
a
2
(1?e
2
)
3
J
2
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J
2
Perturbations
? Notice that only ?ωand n are effected and so
this perturbation results in a secular
perturbation
? The node of the orbit precesses, the argument
of perigee rotates around the orbit plane, and
the satellite moves with a slightly different
mean motion
? For the Earth, J
2
= 1.08284x10
-3
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Gravitational perturbation styles
Parameter Secular Long period Short period
aNoNoYes
eNYes
iNo Yes
? Yes Yes Yes
ω Yes Yes Yes
M Yes Yes Yes
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Other perturbation on orbits and
approximate size
Term Acceleration (m/sec
2
)
Central 0.6
J
2
5x10
-5
Other gravity 3x10
-7
Third body 5x10
-6
Earth tides 10
-9
Ocean tides 10
-10
Drag ~0
Solar radiation 10
-7
Albedo radiation 10
-9
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GPS Orbits
? Orbit characteristics are
– Semimajor axis 26400 km (12 sidereal hour period)
– Inclination 55.5 degrees
– Eccentricity near 0 (largest 0.02)
– 6 orbital planes with 4-5 satellites per plan
? Design lifetime is 6 years, average lifetime 10
years
? Generations: Block II/IIA 9729 kg, Block IIR
11000 kg
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Basic
Constellation
Orbits shown in
inertial space and
size relative to Earth
is correct
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Broadcast Ephemeris
? Satellites transmit as part of their data message the
elements of the orbit
? These are Keplerian elements with periodic terms
added to account for solar radiation and gravity
perturbations
? Periodic terms are added for argument of perigee,
geocentric distance and inclination
? The message and its use are described in the ICD-
GPS-200 icd200c123.pdf (page 105 in PDF)
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Distribution of Ephemerides
? The broadcast ephemeris is decoded by all
GPS receivers and for geodetic receivers the
software that converts the receiver binary to
an exchange format outputs an ASCII version
? The exchange format: Receiver Independent
Exchange format (RINEX) has a standard for
the broadcast ephemeris.
? Form [4-char][Day of year][Session].[yy]n
e.g. brdc0120.02n
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RINEX standard
? Description of RINEX standard can be found
at ftp://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/igscb/data/format/rinex2.txt
? Homework number 1 also contains description
of navigation file message (other types of
RINEX files will be discussed later)
? 12.540.HW1.PDF is first homework: Due Fri
March 8.