Optimal design of broadcast ephemeris parameters for a navigation satellite system

Abstract

Computation of broadcast ephemerides is a fundamental task in satellite navigation and positioning. The GPS constellation is composed of medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellites, and therefore can employ a uniform parameter set to produce broadcast ephemerides. However, other navigation satellite systems such as Compass and IRNSS may include a mixture of inclined-geosynchronous-orbit (IGSO), geostationary-earth-orbit (GEO) and MEO satellites, requiring different parameter sets for each type of orbit. We analyze the variational characteristics of satellite ephemerides with respect to orbital elements; then present a method to design an optimal parameter set for broadcast ephemerides, and derive the parameter sets for IGSO, GEO, and MEO satellites. The computational complexities of the user algorithms for the optimal parameter sets are equivalent to that of the standard GPS user algorithm. Simulation and statistical analyses indicate that the optimal parameter set is $\left\{ {\sqrt {A_{0} } ,e_{0} ,i_{0} ,\Upomega_{0} ,M_{0} ,\omega_{0} ,\dot{\Upomega },\dot{u},\dot{i},C_{\Upomega c3} ,C_{\Upomega s3} ,C_{uc2} ,C_{us2} ,C_{rc2} ,C_{rs2} } \right\}$ for IGSO and GEO satellites, and $\left\{ {\sqrt {A_{0} } ,e_{0} ,i_{0} ,\Upomega_{0} ,M_{0} ,\omega_{0} ,\dot{\Upomega },\dot{u},\dot{i},C_{uc2} ,C_{us2} ,C_{rc2} ,C_{rs2} ,C_{ic2} ,C_{is2} } \right\}$ for MEO satellites.