One-Way GPS Time Transfer: 2002 Performance

Abstract

The Global Positioning System "GPS", among other duties, serves countless worldwide precise time users. These users are both civilian and military, are located on ground, in air, at sea, and in space. The respective missions of these users span metrology & calibration, research & development, test & evaluation, communication synchronization, and surveillance. The vast majority of these users employ what is called ?one-way? synchronization using GPS. One-way synchronization allows users to realize precise time, autonomously and anonymously, using the direct precise time broadcast of GPS. Using data collected, processed, and provided by the United States Naval Observatory "USNO", the authors present an analysis of one-way GPS time transfer performance for FY 2002, utilizing a metric in use since the Initial Operational Capability "IOC" of GPS. This metric describes how well a fixed "surveyed" location user, employing an authorized receiver, tracking one satellite at a time, can obtain precise time using GPS one-way synchronization, without any special augmentation. The performance one-way users experience will vary depending on the particular application. Though no one metric can possibly represent all types of users, the fixed-location analysis provides other types of users a baseline for deriving theoretical assessments of performance that can fairly represent their respectively unique applications.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA485045

Entities

People

  • Charles B. Mcfarland
  • Matthew Forsyth
  • Steven Hutsell

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Calibration
  • Databases
  • Department Of Defense
  • Global Positioning Systems
  • Ionosphere
  • Management Personnel
  • Measurement
  • Navigation
  • Observatories
  • Satellite Constellations
  • Space Operations
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Time Intervals
  • United States
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Space