Spacecraft orbit propagator integration with GNSS in a simulated scenario

When space vehicles operate above the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellation or even above geosynchronous orbit, it is common that the traditional GNSS single-epoch solution can't meet the requirement of orbit determination (OD). To provide the required OD accuracy continuously, a new designed spacecraft orbit propagator (OP) is combined with the GNSS observations in a deep integration mode. Taking both the computational complexity and positioning accuracy into consideration, the orbit propagator is optimized based on a simplified fourth order Runge-Kutta integral aided with empirical acceleration model. A simulation scenario containing a typical Highly-inclined Elliptical Orbit (HEO) user and GPS constellation is established on a HwaCreat™ GNSS signal simulator to testify the performance of the design. The numerical test results show that the maximum propagation error of the optimized orbit propagator does not exceed 1000 m within a day, which is superior to conventional OPs. If the new OP is deeply integrated with GNSS in our proposed scheme, the 95% SEP for the OD accuracy is 10.0005 m, and the time to first fix (TTFF) values under cold and warm start conditions are reduced by at least 7 s and 2 s respectively, which proves its advantage over loose integration and tight integration.