Disclosed herein is a
system for rapidly resolving position with
centimeter-level accuracy for a mobile or stationary
receiver [4]. This is achieved by estimating a set of parameters that are related to the integer cycle ambiguities which arise in tracking the
carrier phase of
satellite downlinks [5,6]. In the preferred embodiment, the technique involves a navigation
receiver [4] simultaneously tracking transmissions [6] from
Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOS) [2] together with transmissions [5] from
GPS navigation satellites [1]. The rapid change in the line-of-
sight vectors from the
receiver [4] to the LEO
signal sources [2], due to the orbital motion of the LEOS, enables the resolution with integrity of the integer cycle ambiguities of the
GPS signals [5] as well as parameters related to the integer cycle
ambiguity on the LEOS signals [6]. These parameters, once identified, enable real-time
centimeter-level positioning of the receiver [4]. In order to achieve high-precision position estimates without the use of specialized
electronics such as atomic clocks, the technique accounts for instabilities in the
crystal oscillators driving the
satellite transmitters, as well as those in the reference [3] and user [4] receivers. In addition, the
algorithm accommodates as well as to LEOS that receive signals from ground-based transmitters, then re-transmit frequency-converted signals to the ground.