N AV I G AT I O N 1

N AV I G AT I O N A L INSTRUMENT WITH COMPASSES

LEARNING OUTCOME
At the end of the session, students should be able
to:

1. Describe the practical use of the instrument

position fixing using Global Navigational
Satellite System (GNSS)
2. Illustrate a GNSS diagram segments
 Electronic systems of
position fixing and Navigation
Global navigation satellite
system
WEEK
3 & 4
WEEK 2: GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) started with the launch of the U.S Department
of Defense Global Positioning System (GPS) in the late 1970’s

GNSS systems currently include

* GPS (United States)
* GLONASS (Russia)
* Galileo (European Union)

GNSS satellite systems consists of three major components or “segments:

* Space Segment
* Control Segment
* User Segment
SPACE SEGMENT
Consists of GNSS satellites, orbiting about 20,000 km above
the earth.
Each GNSS has its own constellation of satellites
CONTROL SEGMENT
The control segment comprises of a ground-based network
of master control stations, data uploading stations, and
monitor stations.
Master control stations adjust the satellites’ orbit
parameters and on-board high-precision clocks when
necessary to maintain accuracy
Monitor stations monitor the satellites’ signal and status,
and relay this information to the master control station
Uploading stations uploads any change in satellite status
back to the satellites
USER SEGMENT
User segment consists of GNSS antennas and receivers used
to determine information such as position, velocity, and
time
Basic GNSS Concepts

SATELLITES
Multiple GNSS constellations orbiting the earth
Beneficial in difficult environment with obstructions to direct line of sight to satellites.
Multiple constellations will give more observations
GNSS satellites know their time and orbit ephemerides very accurately

Timing accuracy is very important.

The time it takes a GNSS signal to travel from satellites to receiver is used to determine
distances (range) to satellites
1 microsecond = 300m, 1 nanosecond = 30 cm.
Small deviations in time can result in large position errors
Navigation message includes the following information:
GPS date and time
Satellite status and health
Satellite ephemeris data, which allows the receiver to calculate the satellite’s position.
Almanac, which contains information and status for all GPS satellites
The P(Y) code is for military use, and provides better interference rejection than the C/A
code.

Newer GPS satellites now transmits L2 C/A code (L2C), providing a second publicly
available code to civilian users.
NovAtel can make use of both L2 carrier and code without knowing how it is coded. This is
called semi-codeless technology.
PROPAGATION
GNSS signals pass through the near-vacuum of space, then through the various layers of
the atmosphere to the earth, as illustrated in the figure below:
To determine accurate positions, we need to know the range to the satellite. This is the
direct path distance from the satellite to the user equipment
The signal will “bend” when traveling through the earth’s atmosphere

This “bending” increases the amount of time the signal takes to travel from the satellite to
the receiver

The computed range will contain this propagation time error, or atmospheric error
Since the computed range contains errors and is not exactly equal to the actual range, we
refer to it as a “pseudorange”
The ionosphere contributes to most of the atmospheric error. It resides at 70 to 1000 km
above the earth’s surface.
Free electrons resides in the ionosphere, influencing electromagnetic wave propagation
Ionospheric delay are frequency dependent. It can be virtually eliminated by calculating
the range using both L1 and L2

The troposphere, the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, contributes to delays due to
local temperature, pressure and relative humidity
Tropospheric delay cannot be eliminated the way ionospheric delay can be
It is possible to model the tropospheric delay then predict and compensate for much of
the error

Signals can be reflected on the way to the receiver. This is called “multipath propagation”
These reflected signals are delayed from the direct signal, and if strong enough, can
interfere with the direct signal
RECEPTION
Receivers need at least 4 satellites to obtain a position. If more are available, these
additional observations can be used to improve the position solution

GNSS signals are modulated by a unique pseudorandom digital sequence, or code. Each
satellite uses a different pseudorandom code

Pseudorandom means that the signal appears random, but actually repeats itself after a
period of time

Receivers know the pseudorandom code for each satellite. This allows receivers to
correlate (synchronize) with the GNSS signal to a particular satellite

Through code correlation, the receiver is able to recover the signal and the information
they contain
COMPUTATION
Range measurements from 4 satellites are needed to determine position
For each satellite tracked, the receiver calculates how long the satellite signal took to
reach it, which in turn, determines the distance to the satellite:

Propagation Time = Time Signal Reached Receiver – Time Signal Left Satellite
Distance to Satellite = Propagation Time * Speed of Light
Receiver now knows where the satellite was at the time of transmission through the use
of orbit ephemerides

Through trilateration, the receiver calculates its position

In a two-dimentional world, here is how position calculation works:
If receiver acquires two satellites, it has two possible positions
WEEK 3

Basic Principle of GNSS

The basis of all GNSS systems is that a user

determines it position by measuring to at least 4 GNSS
satellites at the same time. These measurements give
the user 4 distance measurements between himself
and the 4 satellites. With four measurements one can
resolve 4 unknowns.
 GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)
THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) HAS
B E E N D E V E L O P E D B Y T H E U S D E PA RT M E N T O F
D E F E N S E ( D O D ) , A N D I S O P E R AT E D B Y T H E U S
A I R F O R C E ( U S A F ) . T H E F I R S T S AT E L L I T E WA S
L A U N C H E D I N F E B R U A RY 1 9 7 8 . VA R I O U S
G E N E R AT I O N S O F G P S S AT E L L I T E S A R E B L O C K
I , I I , I I A , I I R , I I R - M , A N D C U R R E N T LY I I F ( S E E
F I G U R E 1 ) . T H E F I R S T B L O C K I I F S AT E L L I T E
WA S L A U N C H E D I N M AY L A S T Y E A R , A N D S E T
H E A LT H Y I N A U G U S T. E L E V E N M O R E B L O C K I I F
S AT E L L I T E S A R E S C H E D U L E D TO B E L A U N C H E D .
T H I R D G E N E R AT I O N G P S ( B L O C K I I I )
S AT E L L I T E S A R E S C H E D U L E D F R O M 2 0 1 4
ONWARDS
Glonass
The GLObal Navigation Satellite System (Glonass)
was built by order of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
The first satellite was launched in October 1982. Since
Autumn 2003, second generation satellites (Glonass-
M) are being launched. The latest launch of three
satellites in December 2010 failed. Third generation
satellites (Glonass-K) are expected from this year
onwards. They will offer civil signals on three
frequencies.
Galileo
The Galileo system is being developed by the European Commission
(EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Two prototype satellites
have been launched so far, GIOVE-A in December 2005 and GIOVE-
B in April 2008. The next step is to launch four satellites, expected this
year, and next year, for the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) of the system. A
contract for 14 operational satellites was awarded in January 2010.
These satellites should fly by 2014. The award of a subsequent 18
satellites has – so far – been left open. With the full constellation,
Galileo should have 30 satellites in orbit (27, plus 3 active spares). For
the final Full Operational Capability (FOC) of Galileo a date of 2016
has been mentioned.
WEEK 4:
GPS
* GPS (Global Positioning System) or NAVSTAR, as it is officially
called, is the first GNSS system
* Launched in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for the US Department
of Defense
* Since the initial launch, several generations, referred to as “Blocks”,
of GPS satellites have been launched
* GPS was initially launched for military use, but opened up to civilian
use in 1983
* The orbital period of each satellite is approximately 12 hours
* At any point in time, a GPS receiver will have at least 6 satellites in
view at any point on Earth under open sky conditions
GPS is a system of 30+ navigation
satellites circling Earth. We know where
they are because they constantly send
out signals. A GPS receiver in your
phone listens for these signals. Once
the receiver calculates its distance from
four or more GPS satellites, it can figure
out where you are.
WEEK 4: GPS AND DGPS

GPS
* GPS (Global Positioning System) or NAVSTAR, as it is officially called, is the first GNSS
system
* Launched in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for the US Department of Defense
* Since the initial launch, several generations, referred to as “Blocks”, of GPS satellites
have been launched
* GPS was initially launched for military use, but opened up to civilian use in 1983
* The orbital period of each satellite is approximately 12 hours
* At any point in time, a GPS receiver will have at least 6 satellites in view at any point on
Earth under open sky conditions
 The GPS space segment is
summarized in the table below:
* GPS orbits approximately 26,560 km above the Earth

* GPS satellites continuously broadcast their identification, ranging signals,

satellite status and corrected ephemerides (orbit parameters)

* Each satellite is identified by their Space Vehicle Number (SVN) and their
PseudoRandom code Number (PRN)

* GPS Control Segment consists of a master control station and a backup

master control station, in addition to monitor stations throughout the world

* The monitor stations tracks the satellite broadcast signal and pass them on to
the master control station where the ephemerides are recalculated. The
resulting ephemerides and timing corrections are transmitted back to the
satellites through data up-loading stations