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Finding the repeat times of the GPS constellation

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Abstract

Single-epoch estimates of position using GPS are improved by removing multipath signals, which repeat when the GPS constellation does. We present two programs for finding this repeat time, one using the orbital period and the other the topocentric positions of the satellites. Both methods show that the repeat time is variable across the constellation, at the few-second level for most satellites, but with a few showing much different values. The repeat time for topocentric positions, which we term the aspect repeat time, averages 247 s less than a day, with fluctuations through the day that may be as much as 2.5 s at high latitudes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Penina Axelrad and George Rosborough for valuable discussions. This research was in part supported by the Southern California Earthquake Center, which is funded by NSF EAR-0106924 and USGS 02HQAG0008, and in part by NSF EAR-0337206. This is SCEC contribution 1012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0225, USA

    Duncan Carr Agnew

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0429, USA

    Kristine M. Larson

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  1. Duncan Carr Agnew
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  2. Kristine M. Larson
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Correspondence to Duncan Carr Agnew.

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Agnew, D.C., Larson, K.M. Finding the repeat times of the GPS constellation. GPS Solut 11, 71–76 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-006-0038-4

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