Cesium and Rubidium Frequency Standards Status and Performance on the GPS Program

Abstract

This paper is an update of the on-orbit operational performance of the frequency standards on the last Block I NAVSTAR satellite (GPS-10), the complete Block II NAVSTAR satellites (GPS-13 to 21) and the Block IIA NAVSTAR (GPS-22 to 40) satellites. Since the status of the GPS constellation is now at Full Operational Capability (FOC), a minimum of twenty-four satellites are in position with all the necessary tests successfully completed. The evolution of frequency standards on board the GPS vehicles will be presented with corresponding results. Various methods and techniques will be presented to show on-orbit life time, down time, state of health telemetry, on-orbit trending and characterization of all the frequency standards. Other topics such as reliability, stability, clock quirks and idiosyncrasies of each vehicle will be covered.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA521666

Entities

People

  • J. Van Melle

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Standards
  • Kalman Filters
  • Measurement
  • Production Models
  • Radiation
  • Reliability
  • Rubidium
  • Satellite Constellations
  • Spacecraft
  • Specifications
  • Standards
  • Temperature Coefficients
  • Time Intervals
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

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

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites