Orbit determination of Sentinel-6A using the Galileo high accuracy service test signal

Abstract

The High Accuracy Service (HAS) is an upcoming addition to the Galileo service portfolio that offers free correction data for precise point positioning in real-time. Beyond terrestrial and aeronautical applications, precise orbit determination (POD) of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) has been proposed as a potential use case for HAS corrections in view of their global availability. Based on HAS data collected during a test campaign in September 2021, the benefit of HAS corrections is assessed for real-time, onboard navigation as well as near real-time POD on the ground using GNSS observations of the Sentinel-6A LEO satellite. Compared to real-time POD using only broadcast ephemerides, performance improvements of about 40%, 10%, and 5% in terms of 3D position error can already be achieved for GPS-only, GPS + Galileo, and Galileo-only navigation. While Galileo processing benefits only moderately from the HAS correction data during the early tests in view of an already excellent Open Service performance, their use is highly advantageous for GPS processing and enables dual-constellation navigation with balanced contributions of both GNSSs for improved robustness. For near real-time offline POD, HAS corrections offer reduced latency or accuracy compared to established ultra-rapid GNSS orbit and clock products as well as independence from external sources.