Principles of GNSS

K.S.R.S. JYOTHSNA
Assistant Professor, Dept. of ECE, CBIT
 PRINCIPLES OF GNSS (20EC E29)
Instruction 3 L Hours per week
Duration of SEE 3 Hours
SEE 60 Marks
CIE 40 Marks
Credits 3
Prerequisite: Knowledge of fundamental concepts of communication is required
Course Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the fundamental concepts of communications in understanding of GPS
architecture, operation and signal structure.
2. Apply the principles of orbital mechanics, time references, coordinate systems and range
measurements in estimating user position.
3. Examine the effect of various error sources and satellite geometry on position estimates and
analyze the suitability of a given data format.
4. Compare the architecture and working of other GNSS systems and make use of GNSS systems in
a variety of civilian and defense applications.
5. Relate the knowledge of DGPS techniques in understanding augmentation systems.
 GNSS
GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System, and is a generic
term that encompasses all global satellite positioning systems. This
includes constellations of satellites orbiting over the earth's surface and
continuously transmitting signals that enable users to determine their
position.

Examples of GNSS include

• Europe’s Galileo,
• the USA’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS),
• Russia’s GLObal Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and
• China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
 Course Syllabus
UNIT-I GPS fundamentals
Introduction to Radio Navigation system: VOR, ILS. GPS System Segments: space, control and user segments, Principle
of operation, Current status of GPS satellite constellation. Orbital Mechanics: GPS ephemeris data, algorithm for
computation of satellite’s position from ephemeris data. Time References: solar and sidereal days, UTC time, GPS time.

UNIT-II GPS signals

Legacy GPS signals: Signal structure, Operating frequencies, C/A and P-Code, Navigation message, Modernized GPS
signals: list of signals and their significance. Range measurements: code and carrier measurements, User position
estimation with PRN codes.
Coordinate systems: Earth Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinate system, Earth Centered Inertial (ECI) coordinate
system, Geodetic coordinate system, Ellipsoid and Geoid, Regional and Global Datum, World Geodetic System (WGS-
84).

UNIT-III GPS error sources

Satellite clock error, ephemeris error, Receiver clock errors, satellite and receiver instrumental bias, Multipath error,
receiver measurement noise, ionospheric error and tropospheric error, Klobuchar model, ionospheric delay estimation
using dual frequency measurements and UERE. Dilution of precision: HDOP, VDOP, TDOP, PDOP & GDOP.
Contd…
UNIT-IV
Data Formats: RINEX Observation and Navigation Data formats, NMEA format.
GNSS: Architecture, operation and signals of other navigational satellite systems Galileo, Beidou and GLONASS, QZSS.
IRNSS: Architecture and signals.
UNIT-V
Differential GPS (DGPS): Principle of DGPS, Types of DGPS: Local Area DGPS (LADPS), Wide Area DGPS (WADGPS).
GPS Augmentation systems: Principle of operation of Satellite Based Augmentation system (SBAS) and Ground Based
Augmentation System (GBAS)
GNSS Applications: Surveying, Mapping, Marine, air and land Navigation, Military and Space Application.

Text Books:
1. Elliot D Kaplan and Christopher J Hegarty, “Understanding GPS principles and applications”, Artech House Publishers, 2/e Boston & London 2005.
2. Pratap Misra and Per Enge, “Global Positioning System Signals, Measurement, and Performance”, Ganga- Jamuna Press, 2/e, Massachusetts, 2010.

Suggested Reading:
1. B.Hofmann-Wellenhof, H.Lichtenegger, and J.Collins, “GPS Theory and Practice,” Springer Verlog, 5/e, 2008.
2. Ahmed El-Rabbany, “Introduction to GPS”, Artech House Publishers, 2/e, Boston 2006.
3. Bradford W.Parkinson and James J. Spilker, “Global Positioning system: Theory and Application”,Vol.II, American Institution of Aeronautics and
Astronautics Inc., Washington, 1996.
 GPS Fundamentals
Global Positioning System (GPS):

It is a Satellite based Radio Navigation System.

1. What is navigation?
2. Which radio frequency is used?
3. How many number of satellites are required?
 Navigation
Definition: The act of directing a ship, aircraft, etc. from one place to another, or the science of finding a
way from one place to another.

A B
(X1, Y1, Z1) (X2, Y2, Z2) Position
 Radio Frequencies
Types of Radio wave propagation:
• Ground wave propagation (Below HF)
• Sky wave propagation (Within HF)
• Line of Sight Propagation (Above HF)

HF: High Frequency: 3 to 30MHz

 Number of Satellites
The number of satellites required is dependent on type of Earth Orbit chosen by the positioning system

Types of Earth Orbit:

 Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 0 to 5000 Kms – 100 to 200 Satellites
 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): 5000 to 20,000 Kms – 24 to 36 Satellites
 Geo Stationary Earth Orbit (GEO): Around 36,000 Kms – 3 to 8 Satellites
 Global Positioning System (GPS)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation system developed by the Department of
Defense in 1973.

GPS, originally NAVigation Satellite Timing And Ranging (NAVSTAR GPS), owned by
the United States government and operated by the department of defense.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based radio navigation system made up of
over 24 satellites at an altitude of 20,200 Kms.

It operates on L band frequencies i.e. 1 to 2 GHz.

GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.
 Why MEO (in terms of Orbital Period)?
The Orbital period of a satellite around a planet is given by:

(𝑅+𝐻)
T = 2𝜋(𝑅 + 𝐻) H
𝑔.𝑅 2
Where
T = Orbital period (secs)
R = Planet radius
H = Orbit altitude
g = Acceleration due to gravity
r = Orbital radius = R+H

The Orbital velocity of a satellite is inversely proportional to the orbital period.

The visibility time of the satellite is dependent on Orbital velocity.
 Why 24 Satellites in MEO?
Number of Satellites is given by:

N = 18 (R+H) / H

R = Radius of Earth = 6,380 kms

H = Orbital height = 20,200 kms

N = (18 x 26580) / 20200 = 23.685

“No. of Satellites” and “Visibility time” plays a major role in selecting the Earth Orbit
 Why L-band is used in GPS?

Performance UHF L-band C-band

parameter ( 300-1000 MHz ) ( 1-2GHz ) ( 4-6GHz )
Path Loss ~f2 Lowest of the three Acceptable Path loss  10dB larger
than at L-band

Ionospheric group Large group delay, 2-150ns at 1.5GHz  0-15ns

delay ~1 / f2 20-1500ns Moderate Lowest
 Principle and Operation of GPS
“Trilateration” is the principle of GPS

GPS positioning works on two basic mathematical concepts:

• The first is called trilateration, which means positioning from three distances.
• The second concept is the relationship between distance traveled, rate (speed) of travel and amount of
time spent traveling. Distance = Speed x time

It centers around finding your position on the Earth by knowing the location of orbiting GPS satellites and
the distance from those satellites to your location on the Earth.

In GPS positioning, the Speed is how fast the radio signal travels, which is equal to the speed of light
(299,792,458 meters per second).

Time is determined by how long it takes for a signal to travel from the GPS satellite to a GPS receiver on earth.

With a known Speed or rate and a known time we can solve for the distance between satellite and receiver.
Once we have the distance from at least 3 satellites, we can determine a 3 dimensional position on the surface
of the earth.
Trilateration
 Step – 1
The time taken by the signal to reach the receiver is called Transit Time
“τ”.

It is the time difference between the time at which the signal reached the
receiver (tu) and the time at which the signal left the satellite (tsv).

Transit time τ = tu - tsv

The distance is computed as:

d1= C x τ1 Where C is the velocity of light

d1 is the distance between user and Satellite 1

Taking this distance d1 as radius and Satellite 1 as center, we have to plot a circle. As d1 is the distance
between the user and satellite, the user can be anywhere on the periphery of the circle.
Step – 2
d2 is the distance between user and Satellite 2

The distance d2 is computed as: d2 = C x τ2

Transit time τ2 = tu2 – tsv2

Taking this distance d2 as radius and Satellite 2 as

center, we have to plot the 2nd circle.

In this step 2, it is obvious that, the receiver must be at

the intersection of both circles. However, there are
two such intersection points.
 Step – 3
d3 is the distance between user and Satellite 3

The distance d3 is computed as d3 = C x τ3

Transit time τ3 = tu3 – tsv3

Taking this distance d3 as radius and Satellite 3 as

center, we have to plot the 3rd circle.

Intersection of 3 Circles is the receiver or user position.

 d1

d3
d2

Intersection of 3 Circles is the receiver

or user position.
 Range Calculation
(X1 , Y1 , Z1) (X2 , Y2 , Z2)
(X3 , Y3 , Z3)

d2 d3
d1 = (𝑿𝒖 − 𝑿𝟏)𝟐 +(𝒀𝒖 − 𝒀𝟏)𝟐 +(𝒁𝒖 − 𝒁𝟏)𝟐 = C x τ1
d1 d2 = (𝑿𝒖 − 𝑿𝟐)𝟐 +(𝒀𝒖 − 𝒀𝟐)𝟐 +(𝒁𝒖 − 𝒁𝟐)𝟐 = C x τ 2
d3 = (𝑿𝒖 − 𝑿𝟑)𝟐 +(𝒀𝒖 − 𝒀𝟑)𝟐 +(𝒁𝒖 − 𝒁𝟑)𝟐 = C x τ 3

d1 , d2 , d3 are said to be true ranges or actual distances from

the satellites to the user.
User at
unknown location
(Xu , Yu , Zu)
Pseudorange Measurement

ρ2
ρ3

ρ4

ρ1
ρ1, ρ2, ρ3, ρ4 are the pseudoranges

∆t = tbias

1 sec difference
Distance = 1 x (3 x 108) mts
 Why 4th Satellite?
Typically a quartz oscillator is used in the receiver to do the timing. The accuracy of quartz clocks in low
compared to highly accurate atomic clock aboard the Satellites.

As the satellite clock and receiver clock are not in synchronism, there exists a time offset (∆t) between both
the clocks. Hence, the range or distance between the Satellite and Receiver is said to be “Pseudo Range” not
True Range. Time offset is also said to be receiver clock bias tbias

By finding the pseudo-range of an additional fourth satellite for precise position calculation, the time error can
also be estimated. Therefore, by having the pseudoranges and the locations of four satellites, the actual
receiver's position along the x, y, z axes and the time error ∆t can be computed accurately.

Pseudorange (ρ) = True range (R) + Receiver Clock bias Error (bu)

Hence, 4th Satellite for 4th Unknown ∆t

 Range Calculation
ρ1 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋1)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌1)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍1)2 + bu

ρ2 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋2)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌2)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍2)2 + bu

ρ3 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋3)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌3)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍3)2 + bu

ρ4 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋4)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌4)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍4)2 + bu

(xu-x1)2 + (yu-y1)2 + (zu-z1)2 = C2 (tu1 – tsv1 + tbias)2

(xu-x2)2 + (yu-y2)2 + (zu-z2)2 = C2 (tu2 – tsv2+ tbias)2
(xu-x3)2 + (yu-y3)2 + (zu-z3)2 = C2 (tu3 – tsv3+ tbias)2
(xu-x4)2 + (yu-y4)2 + (zu-z4)2 = C2 (tu4 – tsv4+ tbias)2

tu1 is the time at which the signal reached the receiver from Satellite 1 (SV1)
tsv1 is at which signal left from SV1
 Calculation
ρ1 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋1)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌1)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍1)2 + bu

ρ1 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋1)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌1)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍1)2 + bu = C (tu1 – tsv1)

As bu = C . tbias

ρ1 = (𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋1)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌1)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍1)2 + C. tbias = C (tu1 – tsv1)

(𝑋𝑢 − 𝑋1)2 +(𝑌𝑢 − 𝑌1)2 +(𝑍𝑢 − 𝑍1)2 = C (tu1 – tsv1) – C. tbias

Squaring on both Sides:

(xu-x1)2 + (yu-y1)2 + (zu-z1)2 = C2 (tu1 – tsv1 + tbias)2

Receiver clock bias tbias can be positive or negative
Trilateration with spheroids
 Architecture of GPS
GPS System comprises of 3 Segments: SPACE
1. Space Segment SEGMENT
2. Control or Ground Segment
3. User Segment

MASTER
MONITOR UPLOAD
STATION
CONTROL
STATION USER
STATION
SEGMENT

CONTROL SEGMENT
 Architecture of GPS
SPACE SEGMENT
4 SELECTED SATELLITES EACH WITH
PRECISION TIME STANDARD
PSEUDO-RANDOM DATA
TELEMETRY DATA

EPHEMERIS
(L1, L2)
CLOCK CORRECTIONS
PSEUDO-RANGE DATA
IONOSPHERIC DATA
CURRENT EPHEMERIS
(L1, L2)
CLOCK CORRECTIONS
PSEUDO-RANGE DATA
IONOSPHERIC DATA

CONTROL SEGMENT

MONITOR MASTER CONTROL UPLOAD RECEIVER

STATIONS STATION STATIONS

HAWAII ACSENSION ISLAND ACCURATE POSITION

ACSENSION ISLAND DIEGO GARCIA VELOCITY
DIEGO GARCIA KWAJALEIN TIME
KWAJALEIN COLORADO SPRINGS CAPE CANAVERAL
COLORADO SPRINGS
CAPE CANAVERAL*
Three Segments of GPS
 Space Segment
The GPS Space Segment is formed by a satellite constellation with enough
satellites to ensure that the users will have, at least, 4 simultaneous
satellites in view from any point at the Earth surface at any time.
GPS Space segment comprises satellite constellation which consists of 24
space vehicles (SVs) distributed in six orbital planes with an inclination of
55 degrees in relation to the equator. Each satellite circles the Earth twice a
day.
GPS SVs are arranged on 6 planes, each of them containing at least 4 slots.
There is a spare satellite slot in each orbital plane, being the system capable
of supporting a constellation of up to 30 satellites on orbit.
Orbital Plane is denoted with A, B, C, D, E and F
Satellite Vehicle is denoted with numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4

The main functions of the Space Segment are to transmit radio-navigation signals on L-band, and to store and
retransmit the navigation message sent by the Control Segment. These transmissions are controlled by highly stable
atomic clocks on board the satellites.
 Control Segment (CS)
The GPS Ground Segment (also referred to as Control Segment or Operational Control System) is the responsible for the
proper operation of the GPS system.
The main tasks performed by the CS are the following:
The GPS Control Segment is composed by
 a network of Monitor Stations (MS),  Monitoring and control of satellite orbital
 a Master Control Station (MCS), parameters;
 a backup of the MCS and  Monitoring health and status of the satellite
 the Ground Antennas (GA) or Upload Station subsystems (solar arrays, battery power and
the level of propellant used for maneuvers);
The Master Control Station (MCS) processes the  Activation of spare satellites;
measurements received by the Monitor Stations (MS) to  Update of parameters in the navigation
estimate satellite orbits (ephemerides) and clock errors, message (ephemeris, almanac and clock
among other parameters, and to generate the navigation corrections);
message. These corrections and the navigation message  Resolving satellite anomalies;
are uploaded to the satellites through the Ground  Controlling Selective Availability (SA) and
Antennas Anti-Spoofing (A/S)
 Passive tracking of the satellites.
Monitor Stations
They are distributed around the world and equipped with atomic clocks standards and GPS receivers to
continuously collect GPS data for all the satellites in view from their locations. The collected data is sent to the
Master Control Station where it is processed to estimate satellite orbits (ephemerides) and clock errors, among
other parameters, and to generate the Navigation Message.

Master Control Station (MCS)

Located at Colorado Springs, the Master Control Station (MCS) is the central control node for the GPS satellite
constellation. The MCS is responsible for all aspects of constellation command and control, to include:
 Routine satellite bus and payload status monitoring.
 Satellite maintenance and anomaly resolution.
 Monitoring and management of Precise Positioning Service (PPS) Signal-In-Space (SIS) performance in
support of all performance standards.
 Navigation message data upload operations as required to sustain performance in accordance with
accuracy and integrity performance standards.
 Detecting and responding to PPS SIS failures.

Upload Station
The Ground Antennas uplink data to the satellites via S-band radio signals. These data includes ephemerides and
clock correction information transmitted within the Navigation Message, as well as command telemetry from the
MCS. This information can be uploaded to each satellite three times per day, i.e., every 8 hours; nevertheless, it is
usually updated just once a day.
 User Segment
The GPS User Segment consists on L-band radio receiver/processors and antennas which receive GPS signals, determine
pseudoranges (and other observables), and solve the navigation equations in order to obtain their coordinates and provide
a very accurate time.

A GPS Receiver is a device capable of determining the user position, velocity and precise time (PVT) by processing the
signal broadcasted by satellites.

Once the signal is acquired and tracked, the receiver application decodes the navigation message and estimates the user
position.

The Navigation Message includes:

 Ephemeris parameters, needed to compute the satellite’s coordinates.
 Time parameters and Clock Corrections, to compute satellite clock offsets and time conversions.
 Service Parameters with satellite health information.
 Ionospheric parameters model needed for single frequency receivers.
 Almanacs, needed for the acquisition of the signal by the receiver.
Three Segments of GPS
Current status of GPS Satellite Constellation

Total satellites in constellation 32

Operational 30
Orbital Mechanics
 Orbital Mechanics
The ability to predict accurately the position of a satellite at the instant of signal transmission is vital to the
operation of GPS.

The path of satellite revolving around the earth is known as orbit. This path can be represented with
mathematical notations.

Orbital mechanics is the study of the motion of the satellites that are present in orbits.

To place the satellite in proper position and to find the satellite’s position, we need mechanics called “Orbital
Mechanics”

It deals with computing of 6 parameters which are used to characterize an ideal elliptical orbit prescribed by
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.
 Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
• The orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the sun at one of the foci.

• Each planet revolves so that the line joining it to the sun sweeps out equal
areas in equal lengths of time regardless of the position of the planet in its
orbit.

• The square of the periodic time of an elliptical orbit is proportional to the

cube of its semi major axis length.
 Kepler’s 1st Law
Kepler’s first law states that the path followed by a satellite around the earth will be an ellipse. This ellipse has two
focal points (foci) F1 and F2 as shown in the figure below. Center of mass of the earth will always present at one of the two
foci of the ellipse.

Satellite
b

a Earth
ae
Apogee
Perigee

If the distance from the center of the Earth to a point on its elliptical path is considered, then the farthest point of an ellipse
from the Earth is called as apogee and the shortest point of an ellipse from the Earth is called as perigee.
 Kepler’s 2nd Law
Kepler’s second law states that for equal intervals of time, the area covered by the satellite will be same with respect to
center of mass of the earth.

Equal Areas in Equal times

t3 t2

If t1 – t2 = t3 – t4 A1

then A1 = A2 A2
t1

t4

Fig: Law of Equal Areas

As the satellite approaches the Earth i.e at Perigee: As the satellite moves away from the Earth i.e at Apogee:
• Its Orbital speed increases • Its Orbital speed decreases
• Gravitational force increases • Gravitational force decreases
 Kepler’s 3rd Law
Kepler’s third law states that, the square of the periodic time of an elliptical orbit is proportional to the cube of its semi
major axis length.
 Six Keplerian Elements
The Six Keplerian elements which define the Satellite’s position are:

a : Semi-major axis
e : Eccentricity
i : Inclination angle
Ω : Right Ascension of ascending node (RAAN)
ω : Argument of Perigee
Ѵ : True anomaly
Out of these elements, the first 5 elements determine the size, shape and orientation of the orbit .
• a and e determines the size and shape of the orbit.
• i, Ω and ω specify the orientation of the orbital plane.

The 6th element gives the satellite position at a given epoch.

Keplerian Elements defining the Size and
Shape of the Satellite’s Elliptical orbit
Semi-major axis and Eccentricity
 Keplerian Elements defining the
Orientation of the Satellite’s Elliptical orbit
Inclination Angle (i)
Ω : RAAN and ω : Argument of Perigee
 Six Keplerian Elements
a : Semi-major axis Focus of the Satellite’s Elliptical
Orbit i.e. Center of mass of earth
e : Eccentricity

i : Inclination angle: It is the angle between

Satellite’s orbital plane and Earth’s equatorial
plane.

Ω : Right Ascension of ascending node (RAAN) :

The angle from the vernal equinox to the
ascending node on the equatorial plane.

ω : Argument of Perigee: The angle measured

between ascending node and perigee.

Ѵ : True anomaly : The angle between perigee

and satellite in the orbital plane at a specific
time.
Vernal Equinox is the direction determined by the intersection of the equatorial
Argument of Latitude = ω + Ѵ plane of the earth with the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun.
 Satellite’s Position and Velocity
The ideal orbital plane and ideal elliptical orbit are specified completely by the five Keplerian elements a, e, i, Ω and ω.

The Satellite’s position can be determined at all times if its true anomaly ‘v’ is given at an epoch.

True anomaly is the angle in the orbital plane measured counterclockwise from the direction of perigee to the satellite.

From Kepler’s laws of two-body motion, it is known that true anomaly does not vary linearly in time for noncircular
orbits. Because it is desirable to define a parameter that does vary linearly in time, two definitions are made that transform
the true anomaly to the mean anomaly, which is linear in time.

The first transformation produces the eccentric anomaly with the true anomaly.

To determine satellite position and velocity expressed in Cartesian coordinate system in terms of these Keplerian elements.

Let us define an orbital coordinate system:

The origin is located at the focus of the elliptical orbit corresponding to the position of the center of mass of the Earth.
The x and y axes are defined as along the major axis and parallel to the minor axis as xo and yo.
 Satellite Position and Velocity
r : Orbit radius: It is the distance between the Earth’s center and the Satellite.

E : Eccentric anomaly: It is the angle subtended at the center of the orbit between the perigee and the projection of the
satellite position on a circle of radius ‘a’.

The mean anomaly, M, does not have a direct geometric interpretation.

The mean anomaly relates position and time via Kepler’s Second Law, and is
proportional to the area swept out by the line FP.
 Eccentric anomaly (E)
Let us define an orbital coordinate system:
The origin is located at the focus of the elliptical orbit corresponding to the position of the center of mass of the Earth.
The x and y axes are defined as along the major axis and parallel to the minor axis as xo and yo.
yo

Geometrically, the eccentric anomaly is constructed from the true

anomaly first by circumscribing a circle around the elliptical orbit.
Next, a perpendicular is dropped from the point A on the orbit to
the major axis of the orbit, and this perpendicular is extended
upward until it intersects the circumscribed circle at point B.
The eccentric anomaly is the angle measured at the center of the
circle, O, counterclockwise from the direction of perigee to the xo
line segment OB. In other words, E = ∠POB. A useful analytical
relationship between eccentric anomaly and true anomaly is as
follows
 Mean anomaly (M)
Another useful characterization of the satellite’s position, is
done by defining mean angular velocity of the satellite called
Mean Motion and is denoted by ‘n’.

Mean anomaly is defined as the angle between the perigee

and a fictitious satellite in a circular orbit with the same
focus and same period as the satellite of interest but moving
with constant speed.

Once the eccentric anomaly has been computed, the mean

anomaly is given by Kepler’s equation.

M = E – e SinE
 Mean anomaly (M)
The importance of transforming from the true to the mean anomaly is that time varies linearly with the mean anomaly. That
linear relationship is as follows:

where M0 is the mean anomaly at epoch t0, and M is the mean anomaly at time t.

It can be verified that M = E = v= 0 at the time of perigee passage.

If we let t = τ = tp provides a transformation between mean anomaly and time of perigee passage:

It is possible to characterize the two-body orbit in terms of the mean anomaly, M0, at epoch t0, instead of the time of perigee
passage τ. GPS makes use of the mean anomaly at epoch in characterizing orbits.
 Mean anomaly (M)
GPS also makes use of a parameter known as mean motion, which is given the symbol n and is defined to be the time
derivative of the mean anomaly.

Since the mean anomaly was constructed to be linear in time for two-body orbits, mean motion is a constant.

Since:

The above can be rewritten as:

Mean motion can also be used to express the orbital period T of a satellite in two-body motion. Since mean motion is the
(constant) rate of change of the mean anomaly, the orbital period is the ratio of the angle subtended by the mean anomaly
over one orbital period to the mean motion.
It can be verified that the mean anomaly passes through an angle of 2π radians during one orbit. Therefore, the orbital
period is calculated as follows:
2π 𝑎3
𝑇= =
𝑛 µ
 Relation between M,E and v
If the period of the satellite is ‘T’:

2π 𝐺𝑀
𝑛= =
𝑇 𝑎3
Where
G:Universal Gravitational Constant = 6.673 x 10-11 m3 Kg-1 S-2
M: Mass of the Earth = 6 x 1024 Kg
µ = GM: Earth’s Gravitational Constant = 3,986,004.418 x 108 m3 / S2

M = E – e SinE
 GPS Ephemeris data
If all the other effects like Sun’s, Moon’s and Star’s
gravitational forces are considered, we need to find
16 Keplerian elements.
 Algorithm for Computation of Satellite’s
Position from ephemeris data
Using the following set of equations, Satellite’s position can be computed:

Rx
Algorithm for Computation of Satellite’s
Position from ephemeris data

Earth’s Rotation Rate:

π = 3.1415926535898
Time References
 Evolution of Time References
The basic idea of time keeping (can be instant or interval) is simple that is : Observe a periodic process and count the
periods or cycles.

Examples of Periodic processes:

• The apparent diurnal rotation of Sun in sky.
• Occurrence of day and night. Process 1 Process 1 Process 1
• Occurrence of seasons.
• Swings of a pendulum. t1 t2 t3
• Oscillations of a quartz clock.

A clock is then, essentially a generator of periodic events and a counting mechanism for the events.

The accuracy of such clock to measure time depends on :

• The error in the initial frequency setting.
• Ability to maintain the rate of periodic process (frequency stability).
 Time References
GNSS Systems strongly rely on measuring the time of arrival of radio signals propagation. Thus, each GNSS System has its
own time reference from which all elements of the Space, Control and User segments are time synchronized.

Time Scales:

1. Astronomical Time Scale

2. Atomic Time Scale

Astronomical Time Scales:

The earth’s daily rotation has been the basis for time keeping since the beginning, and has served as the source for
definition of a Second.

The earth’s diurnal rotation has given rise to two time scales:
1. Solar Time
2. Sidereal time
 Astronomical Time Scale
Solar Time: The equation of time describes the discrepancy between two kinds of solar time.

The two times that differ are the apparent solar time, which directly tracks the diurnal
motion of the Sun, and mean solar time, which tracks a theoretical mean Sun with uniform
motion. Apparent solar time can be obtained by measurement of the current position (hour
angle) of the Sun, as indicated (with limited accuracy) by a sundial.

Apparent Solar day: A complete revolution of the Earth with respect to Sun.

Later, they found out that “No Two Apparent Solar days are precisely of same length”.
Mean Solar day: This corresponds to the earth in a hypothetical circular orbit around the Sun with the same period and its
axis of rotation perpendicular to the orbital plane.

The mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian is called the “Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)” or “Zulu Time”.
Sidereal Time:

Sidereal day: It is defined as the time the earth takes to rotate once on its own axis relative to stars much farther away than
the Sun.
Relation between Solar day and Sidereal day
1 Mean solar day = 24hrs = 86,400 mean solar seconds
1 Mean sidereal day = 23hr 56m 4.0954 seconds

Mean Solar day is approximately 4 mins longer than a Sidereal day.

Early in the twentieth century, it became clear that mean solar time is a “non uniform
scale”.
 Universal Time (UT)
Universal Time (UT) is a time standard based on Earth's rotation. There are several versions of Universal Time, which
differ by up to a few seconds. The most commonly used are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and UT1

Versions of Universal time:

UT0 is Universal Time determined at an observatory by observing the diurnal motion of stars or extragalactic radio
sources, and also from ranging observations of the Moon and artificial Earth satellites. The location of the observatory
is considered to have fixed coordinates in a terrestrial reference frame (such as the International Terrestrial Reference
Frame) but the position of the rotational axis of the Earth wanders over the surface of the Earth; this is known as polar
motion. UT0 does not contain any correction for polar motion. The difference between UT0 and UT1 is on the order of a
few tens of milliseconds. The designation UT0 is no longer in common use.

UT1 is the principal form of Universal Time. While conceptually it is mean solar time at 0° longitude, precise
measurements of the Sun are difficult. Hence, it is computed from observations of distant quasars using long baseline
interferometry, laser ranging of the Moon and artificial satellites, as well as the determination of GPS satellite orbits.
UT1 is the same everywhere on Earth, and is proportional to the rotation angle of the Earth with respect to distant
quasars, specifically, the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF), neglecting some small adjustments.
 Atomic Time Scale
Later, the need for greater precision and the discovery that the earth’s rotation rate is not constant led to the
redefinition of the ‘second’ in terms of resonance frequency of Cesium atom. This scale is known as “Atomic Scale”.

Definition of Second: It is defined as “the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the
transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the Cesium – 133 atom”.

The continuous time scale based on the above definition of atomic sound is called “International Atomic Time (TAI)”.

International Atomic Time (TAI) is the primary international time standard from which other time standards,
including UTC, are calculated. TAI is kept by the BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures), and is based
on the combined input of many atomic clocks around the world, each corrected for environmental and relativistic
effects.

Cutting ties with the earth time (UT1), however, is unsetting.

It is estimated that in about four thousand years the earth could lose about twelve hours, or half a day and the sun
would be high in the sky while the local time based on TAI clock indicates midnight.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
The global time standard is called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), all national time standards around the world
are based on this UTC time with the appropriate offset for their time zone. To keep UTC time synchronized to the
Earth’s rotation, additional seconds can be added or removed to compensate for slight variations in the
rotation rate of the Earth, as well as other factors. When required, leap seconds are applied either on December
31st or June 30th.

UTC second is the same as that for atomic time and is based on the Cesium Atom. UTC was set to agree with UT1 at
00hrs on January 1, 1958.

A leap second can be +ve or –ve and is introduced to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of UT1. These seconds can be
introduced at the end of any month but June and December are preferred.

All of these versions of UT, except for UTC, are based on Earth's rotation relative to distant celestial objects, but with a
scaling factor and other adjustments to make them closer to solar time. UTC is based on International Atomic Time,
with leap seconds added to keep it within 0.9 second of UT1.
 GPS Time
GPS time is a scale used for referencing or time tagging the GPS signals. It is computed based on atomic clocks
at the monitor stations and onboard GPS satellites.

There are no leap seconds introduced in GPS time, so it is a “continuous time scale”

GPS time was set to UTC on January 6th 1980. However due to leap seconds introduced into the UTC, GPS time
moved ahead of UTC by 18 Seconds as on date.

The difference between GPS time and UTC time scales is given in the GPS navigation message.

Instead of reprogramming each satellite’s internal clock with every leap second added, it was decided that an easier
method would be to include the current number of leap seconds in the downloaded navigational data. GPS engines would
then be able to apply this offset to allow an accurate UTC time to be determined.
 Summary of Time References
Time Scales
or Time references

Astronomical Atomic
Timescale Timescale
Universal Based on Earth Based on Cesium Atom International
Time Scales Atomic Time
(UT) (TAI)
International
Solar Time Sidereal Time
Atomic Time
Based on Sun Based on Stars Cesium Atom

Coordinated Universal time (UTC)

GPS time was set to UTC on January 6th 1980. However due to leap seconds introduced into the UTC, GPS time moved ahead
of UTC by 18 Seconds as on date.
 Constructed Time Scales
Universal Time (UT) is mean solar time at 0° longitude

International Atomic Time (TAI) is the primary international time standard from which other time standards,
including UTC, are calculated. TAI is kept by the BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures), and is
based on the combined input of many atomic clocks around the world, each corrected for environmental and
relativistic effects. It is the primary realization of Terrestrial Time.

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is an atomic time scale designed to approximate Universal Time. UTC differs
from TAI by an integral number of seconds. UTC is kept within 0.9 second of UT1 by the introduction of one-
second steps to UTC, the "leap second". To date these steps (and difference "TAI-UTC") have always been positive.

Other Time Scales:

Julian day number is a count of days elapsed since Greenwich mean noon on 1 January 4713 B.C., Julian
proleptic calendar. The Julian Date is the Julian day number followed by the fraction of the day elapsed since the
preceding noon. Conveniently for astronomers, this avoids the date skip during an observation night.
Modified Julian day (MJD) is defined as MJD = JD - 2400000.5. MJD day thus begins at midnight, civil date. Julian
dates can be expressed in UT, TAI, TDT, etc. and so for precise applications the timescale should be specified, e.g.
MJD 49135.3824 TAI.
 Julian Day
Julian Day is the continuous count of days since the beginning of the Julian period and is used primarily by
astronomers, and in software for easily calculating elapsed days between two events.
Importance of Julian date: The purpose of Julian date is make it easy for computing difference between one
calendar date and another calendar date. Eg: No of days between 1.11.1980 to 25.11.1990

Julian date: It is the interval of time in days and fractions of a day since January 1, 4713 BC Greenwich Noon.

Julian day number (JDN) is the integer part of the Julian date.

January 1st
Till date
4713 BC
No. of days elapsed

Eg: Julian date of May 28, 2012 is 2456075.74082

Here, 2456075 is the number of elapsed days since the beginning of the Julian cycle and .74082 represents the
time of the day.
 Computation of Julian Day
Many applications store dates in “5-digit long” Julian format, which consists of a 2-digit year and a 3 digit day
number in the year.
Eg: Nov 25, 2012 is stored as 12330 or 33012. Since, Nov 25th is the 330th day of the year. 12 represents 2
digits of the year.

Julian day (JD) is given by:

JD = Int [365.25 Y] + Int [30.6001 (M + 1)] + D + (UT/24) + 1720981.5

Eg: Julian day of January 29, 2006 at 12:00 hrs

Here Y = 2006, M=01, D=29, UT=12.

Substituting, we get JD = 2453765

Modified Julian Day: MJD = JD – 2400000.5

 Formulae
• Orbital period of GPS satellite = 11hrs 58min 2.05sec

• Earth’s gravitational constant = GM = 3.98 x 1014 m3/sec2

• Angular velocity = n = 2π / T = dƟ/dt

• Radius of the satellite’s orbit = rs = 26,560 Kms

• Speed of the Satellite = Vs = rs . dƟ/dt

• Semi-major axis of satellite’s orbit = a = 2.6369 x 107 mts which can be computed
from Kepler’s 3rd Law.

• JD = Int [365.25 Y] + Int [30.6001 (M + 1)] + D + (UT/24) + 1720981.5

• Modified Julian Day: MJD = JD – 2400000.5

 Problems
Q. Calculate the Angular velocity and Speed of the GPS Satellite.

Sol. Angular velocity(d/dt)

= 2 × /((11 × 3600)+ (58 × 60) + 2.05)
= 1.458 × 10-4 rad/s.
Speed of satellite = rs ×(d/dt)
= 26560km×1.458×10-4 radians/sec
≅ 3874 meters/sec
 Problems
Q. Calculate the Semi major axis (a) for the given parameters:
Orbital period (T) = 11hrs 58min 2.05sec
Earth’s Gravitational Constant (GM)=3.98×1014 m3/sec2

Sol: From Kepler’s Third law

T2/a3 = 42/GM, a = 2.6369×107
 Problems
Q. Compute GPS Satellite Orbital period for the given parameters:
Semi major axis (a) = 2.6369×107

Sol: Earth’s Gravitational Constant (GM) = 3.98×1014 m3/sec2

Orbital period (T) = ((42× a3)/ GM) = 4.3082×104sec
 Problems
Q. Calculate the GEO Satellite Orbital period for the given parameters:
Semi major axis (a) = 42242Km

Sol.
Earth’s Gravitational Constant (GM) = 3.98*1014 m3/sec2
Orbital period (T) = ((42* a3)/ GM) = 8.6164*104 sec
 Problems
Q. Calculate the Julian day and Modified Julian day of January 29, 2006 at 12:00hrs.

Sol. JD = INT[365.25y]+INT[30.6001(m+1)]+D+UT/24+1720981.5
Here y=2006, m=01, D=29, UT=12
= INT[365.25 x2006]+INT[30.6001(01+1)]+29+12/24+1720981.5
= INT[732691.5]+INT[61.2002]+29+0.5+1720981.5
= 732692 + 62 + 29 + 0.5 +1720981.5
= 2453765

Modified Julian Day: MJD = JD – 2400000.5 = 2453765 – 2400000.5 = 53765

Thank You