Abstract
Ionospheric delay is one of the main error sources in the precise orbit determination (POD) of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites using spaceborne global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data. The ionospheric-free linear combination is usually used to eliminate the influence of the first-order main term, and the impact of higher-order ionospheric (HOI) delay is ignored. With the development of LEO satellite POD technology, calculating HOI delay at different orbital altitudes and exploring the variations in HOI delay have become key topics for further improving POD. The slant total electron content was calculated by using the smoothed satellite-borne GNSS data. The location of the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) and geomagnetic field intensity at the IPP were calculated by using the International Reference Ionosphere-2016(IRI-2016) and International Geomagnetic Reference Field: the 13th generation (IGRF-13) models. The second- and third-order ionospheric delays could be determined by using the above data. GOCE, GRACE-A and SWARM-A/B were selected as case studies. Comparing the HOI delays of these four satellites shows that the impact of HOI delay on LEO satellite GPS data is approximately on the order of millimeters to centimeters. The higher the orbit altitude is, the smaller the HOI delay. Reduced-dynamic orbit determination and analysis were performed using GPS observations with and without HOI delay. The results of overlapping orbit analysis, precision orbit comparison, and satellite laser ranging tests show that HOI delay correction can improve the inner and outer coincidence precision of LEO satellite POD and that the improvement decreases gradually with increasing LEO satellite orbit altitude. In summary, the impact of HOI delay on the POD precision of LEO satellites is at the submillimeter level. As the POD precision of LEO satellites moves toward the mm level with the development of spaceborne GNSS techniques, the impact of HOI delay on POD cannot be ignored.
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Data Availability
GRACE-A GPS receiver observations and the PSO product are packaged and released by JPL (ftp://isdcftp.gfz-potsdam.de/grace/Level-1B/JPL). The observations of SWARM-A/B, GOCE GPS receivers, DCB and PSO are provided by ESA (https://earth.esa.int). The SLR check uses the normal point (NP) data released by the International Laser Ranging Service (https://cddis.nasa.gov/archive/slr/data/npt_crd). The polar shift files required for the POD, precise ephemeris, precise clock offset, and DCB files of GPS satellites are all released by the CODE (ftp.aiub.unibe.ch). In addition, the IGRF-13 model is provided by IAGA (https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank JPL and GFZ for providing the GRACE-A GNSS data, ESA for providing GOCE and SWARM-A/B-related data, the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) and IGS for providing precise ephemeris, clock error and other documents, COSMIC for providing information about the differential code bias (DCB) of the GRACE-A receiver, the International Laser Ranging Service for providing the NP data required for SLR verification, the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) for providing the IGRF-13 model, and the Space Research Council and the International Radio Science Union for providing the IRI-2016 model. This study is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42274006, 41874091 and 41774001), the Autonomous and Controllable Special Project for Surveying and Mapping of China (Grant No. 816-517), and the SDUST Research Fund (Grant No. 2014TDJH101).
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Guo, J., Qi, L., Liu, X. et al. High-order ionospheric delay correction of GNSS data for precise reduced-dynamic determination of LEO satellite orbits: cases of GOCE, GRACE, and SWARM. GPS Solut 27, 13 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-022-01349-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-022-01349-6