LEO-PNT end-to-end in-orbit demonstration: an ESA initiative to pave the way for a European GNSS constellation in LEO

作者：A. Le Priellec, Pietro Giordano, M. C. Limon, F. Grec, Roberto Prieto-Cerdeira · 发表于：Small Satellites Systems and Services Symposium (4S 2024) · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1117/12.3062635 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Engineering

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are the only global, free, comprehensive technology providing absolute and accurate positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services to users worldwide. The number of GNSS users and applications have been grown significantly in the past decades, becoming essential for many different commercial, industrial, scientific, and safety-critical applications. The future demands in terms of PNT performance and resilience will not be completely satisfied with existing GEO/MEO-based GNSS backbone infrastructure, thus the need adopt a “multi-layer system of systems” architecture where the MEO component is complemented and augmented by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) systems, terrestrial systems and user-level integrated sensors. A PNT system in LEO could allow to complement services and capabilities delivered by MEO GNSS. LEO constellations would be able to make use of new frequency bands, complementing and providing for alternative PNT solutions versus the current L-band GNSS constellations. Spectrum diversity, in combination with geometrical diversity factors stemming from the LEO orbital dynamics, enable a plethora of new satellite navigation techniques which effectively complement the MEO-based L-band GNSS systems. LEO-PNT is the first Component of the ESA FutureNAV Programme with the objective to mature and demonstrate in-orbit innovative LEO-PNT space-borne, ground segment and user segment technologies and potential services, as an enabler towards...