Dongxia Wang

The BeiDou-3 navigation satellite system (BDS-3) has officially provided positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services to global users since 31 July 2020. With the application of inter-satellite link technology, global integrity monitoring becomes possible. Nevertheless, the content of integrity monitoring is still limited by the communication capacity of inter-satellite links and the layout of ground monitoring stations. Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites have advantages in information-carrying rate and kinematic velocity and can be used as satellite-based monitoring stations for navigation satellites. Large numbers of LEO satellites can provide more monitoring data than ground monitoring stations and make it easier to obtain full-arc observation data. A new challenge of redundant data also arises. This study constructs multi-source observation links with satellite-to-ground, inter-satellite, and satellite-based observation data, proposes an integrity monitoring method with optimization of observation links, and verifies the performance of integrity monitoring with different observation links. The experimental results show four findings. (1) Based on the integrity status of BDS-3, the proposed system-level integrity mode can realize full-arc anomaly diagnosis in information and signals according to the observation conditions of the target satellite. Apart from basic navigation messages and satellite-based augmentation messages, autonomous messages and inter-satellite ranging data can be used to evaluate the state of the target satellite. (2) For a giant LEO constellation, only a small number of LEO satellites need to be selected to construct a minimum satellite-based observation unit that can realize multiple returns of navigation messages and reduce the redundancy of observation data. With the support of 12 and 30 LEO satellites, the minimum number of satellite-based observation links is 1 and 4, respectively, verifying that a small amount of LEO satellites could be used to construct a minimum satellite-based observation unit. (3) A small number of LEO satellites can effectively improve the observation geometry of the target satellite. An orbit determination observation unit, which consists of chosen satellite-to-ground and/or satellite-based observation links based on observation geometry, is proposed to carry out fast calculations of satellite orbit. If the orbit determination observation unit contains 6 satellite-to-ground monitoring links and 6/12/60 LEO satellites, the value of satellite position dilution of precision (SPDOP) is 38.37, 24.60, and 15.71, respectively, with a 92.95%, 95.49%, and 97.12% improvement than the results using 6 satellite-to-ground monitoring links only. (4) LEO satellites could not only expand the resolution of integrity parameters in real time but also augment the service accuracy of the navigation satellite system. As the number of LEO satellites increases, the area where UDRE parameters can be solved in real time is constantly expanding to a global area. The service accuracy is 0.93 m, 0.88 m, and 0.65 m, respectively, with augmentation of 6, 12, and 60 LEO satellites, which is an 8.9%, 13.7%, and 36.3% improvement compared with the results of regional service. LEO satellites have practical application values by improving the integrity monitoring of navigation satellites.

Radio determination satellite service (RDSS) is one of the characteristic services of Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), and also distinguishes with other GNSS systems. BDS-3 RDSS adopts new signals, which is compatible with BDS-2 RDSS signals in order to guarantee the services of old users. Moreover, the new signals also separate civil signals and military signals which are modulated on different carriers to improve their isolation and RDSS service performance. Timing is an important part of RDSS service, which has been widely used in the field of the power, transportation, marine and others. Therefore, the timing accuracy, availability and continuity is an important guarantee for RDSS service. This paper summarizes the principle of one-way and two-way timing, and provides the evaluation method of RDSS timing accuracy, availability and continuity. Based on BDS-3 RDSS signal measurements of system, the performance of one-way timing and two-way timing is analyzed and evaluated for the first time. The results show that: (1) the accuracy of one-way timing and two-way timing is better than 30 ns and 8 ns respectively, which are better than the official claimed accuracy; (2) the RMS of one-way timing accuracy is 5.45 ns, which is 20% smaller than BDS-2, and the availability and continuity are 100%; (3) the RMS of two-way timing accuracy is 3.59 ns, which is 34% smaller than one-way timing, and both of the availability and continuity are 100%; (4) the orbit maneuver of GEO satellite make the one-way timing has 7.68 h recovery, but has no affection on the two-way timing.