Orbit determination of medium-high earth orbital satellite using GNSS crosslink ranging observations

Precise orbit determination of medium and high earth orbital satellites mainly depends on ground-based tracking systems, which have limitations such as insufficient tracking arc, low accuracy, and are often unable to support autonomous navigation. The foundation of a GNSS crosslink network provides a new resolution for orbit determination of medium and high earth orbital satellites. This paper introduces a new method, used for orbit determination of medium and high earth orbital satellites based on GNSS crosslink ranging observations. The visibility, positioning accuracy, and crosslink budget has been analyzed and the simulative calculation of Autonomous Orbit Determination (AOD) was performed. The results show that with sufficient visible satellite numbers, positioning accuracy, and link margins, the AOD of medium-high earth orbital satellites using GNSS crosslink ranging observations can achieve a positioning error within 6 m in radial, 2 m along and across; the new method is feasible and can open new directions in the application of GNSS.