Combining Time Transfer Measurements Using a Kalman Filter

Abstract

Time transfer measurements made between UTC (k) timing laboratories are routinely performed using a variety of satellite-based methods. The National Physical Laboratory has undertaken a study of combining time transfer measurements from separate links between two laboratories, where each link measures the same clock difference. The aim is to produce a time series of (composite) time-transfer measurements that has appreciably less measurement noise than any of the component measurements. A Kalman filter is used to combine the measurements. The method is developed to treat some of the known characteristics of satellite time transfer measurements. These include time series having different measurement intervals, and slowly changing delays occurring within the time transfer hardware. The treatment of missing data and the addition and removal of individual links are also examined.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA485184

Entities

People

  • J. A. Davis
  • M. G. Cox
  • P. M. Harris
  • P. W. Stacey

Organizations

  • National Physical Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Clocks
  • Composite Materials
  • Covariance
  • Data Sets
  • Equations
  • Equations Of State
  • Filters
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Modulation
  • Instrumentation
  • Intervals
  • Kalman Filters
  • Measurement
  • Modulation
  • Time Intervals

Readers

  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space