Stefan Schaer

The International GPS Service (IGS): An interdisciplinary service in support of Earth sciences

Abstract Since 21 June 1992 the International GPS Service (IGS) produces and makes available uninterrupted time series of its products, in particular GPS observations from the IGS Global Network, GPS orbits, Earth orientation parameters (components x and y of polar motion, length of day), satellite and receiver clock information, and station coordinates and velocities. At a later stage the IGS started exploiting its network for atmosphere monitoring, in particular for ionosphere mapping and for troposphere monitoring. This is why new IGS products encompass ionosphere maps and tropospheric zenith delays, both with a very high temporal resolution. This development will be even more pronounced through the advent of many space-missions carrying GPS, or combined GPS/GLONASS receivers for various purposes. The achievements of the IGS are only possible through a unique voluntary cooperation of a great number of active organizations. This article gives an informative overview for the broader scientific community of the spectrum of problems that is addressed today using IGS/GPS techniques.

Processing Strategies for Regional GPS Networks

At the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE), one of the IGS Analysis Centers, we are routinely processing the GPS data of a dense European network. In order to improve the height estimates and, very strongly coupled therewith, the modelling of the troposphere for this network, we decided to include low-elevation data into the processing, something that has been done in VLBI analyses for a long time. An appropriate mapping function, the option to weight the observations according to the elevation angle, and the estimation of troposphere gradients were implemented to make best use of the data at low elevations. Problems may arise from phase center variations, multipath, and the troposphere.

CODE’s five-system orbit and clock solution—the challenges of multi-GNSS data analysis

This article describes the processing strategy and the validation results of CODE’s MGEX (COM) orbit and satellite clock solution, including the satellite systems GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS. The validation with orbit misclosures and SLR residuals shows that the orbits of the new systems Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS are affected by modelling deficiencies with impact on the orbit scale (e.g., antenna calibration, Earth albedo, and transmitter antenna thrust). Another weakness is the attitude and solar radiation pressure (SRP) modelling of satellites moving in the orbit normal mode—which is not yet correctly considered in the COM solution. Due to these issues, we consider the current state COM solution as preliminary. We, however, use the long-time series of COM products for identifying the challenges and for the assessment of model-improvements. The latter is demonstrated on the example of the solar radiation pressure (SRP) model, which has been replaced by a more generalized model. The SLR validation shows that the new SRP model significantly improves the orbit determination of Galileo and QZSS satellites at times when the satellite’s attitude is maintained by yaw-steering. The impact of this orbit improvement is also visible in the estimated satellite clocks—demonstrating the potential use of the new generation satellite clocks for orbit validation. Finally, we point out further challenges and open issues affecting multi-GNSS data processing that deserves dedicated studies.

The CODE MGEX orbit and clock solution

The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) is contributing as a global analysis center to the International GNSS Service (IGS) since many years. The processing of GPS and GLONASS data is well established in CODE’s ultra-rapid, rapid, and final product lines. With the introduction of new signals for the established and new GNSS, new challenges and opportunities are arising for the GNSS data management and processing. The IGS started the Multi-GNSS-EXperiment (MGEX) in 2012 in order to gain first experience with the new data formats and to develop new strategies for making optimal use of these additional measurements. CODE has started to contribute to IGS MGEX with a consistent, rigorously combined triple-system orbit solution (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo). SLR residuals for the computed Galileo satellite orbits are of the order of 10 cm. Furthermore CODE established a GPS and Galileo clock solution. A quality assessment shows that these experimental orbit and clock products allow even a Galileo-only precise point positioning (PPP) with accuracies on the decimeter- (static PPP) to meter-level (kinematic PPP) for selected stations.

Consistency of seven different GNSS global ionospheric mapping techniques during one solar cycle

In the context of the International GNSS Service (IGS), several IGS Ionosphere Associated Analysis Centers have developed different techniques to provide global ionospheric maps (GIMs) of vertical total electron content (VTEC) since 1998. In this paper we present a comparison of the performances of all the GIMs created in the frame of IGS. Indeed we compare the classical ones (for the ionospheric analysis centers CODE, ESA/ESOC, JPL and UPC) with the new ones (NRCAN, CAS, WHU). To assess the quality of them in fair and completely independent ways, two assessment methods are used: a direct comparison to altimeter data (VTEC-altimeter) and to the difference of slant total electron content (STEC) observed in independent ground reference stations (dSTEC-GPS). The main conclusion of this study, performed during one solar cycle, is the consistency of the results between so many different GIM techniques and implementations.

CODE's new ultra-rapid orbit and ERP products for the IGS

Abstract The International GNSS Service (IGS) issues four sets of so-called ultra-rapid products per day, which are based on the contributions of the IGS Analysis Centers. The traditional (“old”) ultra-rapid orbit and earth rotation parameters (ERP) solution of the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) was based on the output of three consecutive 3-day long-arc rapid solutions. Information from the IERS Bulletin A was required to generate the predicted part of the old CODE ultra-rapid product. The current (“new”) product, activated in November 2013, is based on the output of exactly one multi-day solution. A priori information from the IERS Bulletin A is no longer required for generating and predicting the orbits and ERPs. This article discusses the transition from the old to the new CODE ultra-rapid orbit and ERP products and the associated improvement in reliability and performance. All solutions used in this article were generated with the development version of the Bernese GNSS Software. The package was slightly extended to meet the needs of the new CODE ultra-rapid generation.

The GPS as a tool in global geodynamics

Until a few years ago it was believed that the GPS would never play an important role in Global Geodynamics. There was a general consensus that the Global Terrestrial Reference Frame and the Celestial Reference Frame would be uniquely defined by VLBI, that the geocenter and the Earth’s potential would be defined essentially by Laser Observations. It was believed that GPS would play a decisive role in the densification of the Terrestrial Reference Frame, a role as an interpolation tool for the other more absolute space techniques so to speak.

GPS/GLONASS orbit determination based on combined microwave and SLR data analysis

The combination of space-geodetic techniques is considered as an important tool for improving the accuracy and consistency of the resulting geodetic products. For GNSS satellites, tracking data is regularly collected by both the microwave and the SLR observation technique. In this study, we investigate the impact of combined analysis of microwave and SLR observations on precise orbit determination of GNSS satellites. Combined orbits are generated for the two GPS satellites equipped with Laser retroreflector arrays and for three GLONASS satellites that are currently observed by the 1LRS network. The combination is done at the observation level, implying that all parameters common to both techniques are derived from both observation types. Several experimental orbits are determined using different observation weights. As the well-known 5 cm-bias between SLR measurements and GPS microwave orbits is unexplained, SLR range biases as well as satellite retroreflector offsets are estimated in addition to the orbital parameters. The different orbit solutions are then compared in order to determine whether and to which extent the SLR measurements influence a microwave orbit primarily derived from microwave observations.

Determination of multi-GNSS pseudo-absolute code biases and verification of receiver tracking technology

It is common to handle code biases in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data analysis as conventional differential code biases (DCBs): P1-C1, P1-P2, and P2-C2. Due to the increasing number of signals and systems in conjunction with various tracking modes for the different signals (as defined in RINEX3 format), the number of DCBs would increase drastically and the bookkeeping becomes almost unbearable. The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) has thus changed its processing scheme to observablespecific signal biases (OSB). This means that for each observation involved all related satellite and receiver biases are considered. The OSB contributions from various ionosphere analyses (geometry-free linear combination) using different observables and frequencies and from clock analyses (ionosphere-free linear combination) are then combined on normal equation level. By this, one consistent set of OSB values per satellite and receiver can be obtained that contains all information needed for GNSS-related processing. This advanced procedure of code bias handling is now also applied to the IGS (International GNSS Service) MGEX (Multi-GNSS Experiment) procedure at CODE. Results for the biases from the legacy IGS solution as well as the CODE MGEX processing (considering GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS) are presented. The consistency with the traditional method is confirmed and the new results are discussed regarding the long-term stability.

CODE ultra-rapid product series for the IGS

CODE, the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe, is a joint venture of the following four institutions: Astronomical Institute, University of Bern (AIUB), Bern, Switzerland; Federal Office of Topography swisstopo, Wabern, Switzerland; Federal Agency of Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), Frankfurt a. M., Germany; Institut fur Astronomische und Physikalische Geodasie, Technische Universitat Munchen (IAPG, TUM), Munich, Germany. It acts as a global analysis center of the International GNSS Service (IGS). The operational computations are performed at AIUB using the latest development version of the Bernese GNSS Software. In this context an ultra-rapid solution series is generated considering GPS and GLONASS satellites. It is updated several times per day and contains 24 hours of observed and 24 hours of predicted orbit interval. More details are available in: Lutz, S., G. Beutler, S. Schaer, R. Dach, A. Jaggi; 2014: CODEs new ultra-rapid orbit and ERP products for the IGS. GPS Solutions. DOI 10.1007/s10291-014-0432-2