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Accuracy and reliability of BeiDou clocks

  • Katarzyna Chwedczuk , Ciro Gioia , Bogdan Skorupa and Kamil Maciuk ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: February 21, 2023
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Journal of Applied Geodesy
From the journal Journal of Applied Geodesy Volume 17 Issue 3

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the analysis of the stability of BeiDou system clocks; currently only signals from two blocks, BSD-2 and BDS-3, are available. For elaboration, 30 s clock corrections from the 2014 to 2020 period for 37 satellites were used (9 IGSO, 28 MEO). Four different Allan variances were used to determine stability, and additionally, the type of noise characteristic for each satellite was also determined. Based on the calculations, it was shown that the BDS-2 segment has a significantly lower stability than BDS-3. Moreover, it was possible to notice a difference in the course of the graphs of the same satellites using different variances. BDS-2 satellites were mostly characterised by the presence of WFM noise, while BDS-3 satellites were characterised by WFM noise for the shortest averaging times and RWFM for the other intervals. Accuracy varies between 10−10 s to 10−6 s for a rubidium clocks in general, in case of the hydrogen masers in is between 10−14 s to 10−10 s.

Keywords: atomic clocks; BeiDou; clock; GNSS; MGEX
Corresponding author: Kamil Maciuk, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland, E-mail:

Ciro Gioia's current afiliation: Freelance Researcher, Brebbia, Italy

Funding source: National Science Centre 2021/05/X/ST10/00058

Award Identifier / Grant number: MINIATURA 5

Funding source: AGH University of Science and Technology 16.16.150.545

Award Identifier / Grant number: Statutory Research

  1. Author contributions: Katarzyna Chwedczuk 45%, Ciro Gioia 5%, Bogdan Skorupa 5%, Kamil Maciuk 45%.

  2. Research funding: This work was funded by National Science Centre as part of MINIATURA 5, application No. 2021/05/X/ST10/00058, and by the Initiative for Excellence–Research University grant at AGH University of Science and Technology; and under scientific research 16.16.150.545.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

Appendix: BeiDou status (http://www.csno-tarc.cn/en/system/constellation, access date 02-09-2022).

PRNa SVNb Block NORAD IDc Clock type Launch date Status Service signal ADEV ODEV MDEV HDEV
01 GEO-8 BDS-2 44,231 Rubidium 2019-05-17 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I
02 GEO-6 BDS-2 38,953 Rubidium 2012-10-25 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I
03 GEO-7 BDS-2 41,586 Rubidium 2016-06-12 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I
04 GEO-4 BDS-2 37,210 Rubidium 2010-11-01 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I
05 GEO-5 BDS-2 38,091 Rubidium 2012-02-25 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I
06 IGSO-1 BDS-2 36,828 Rubidium 2010-08-01 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM WFM
07 IGSO-2 BDS-2 37,256 Rubidium 2010-12-18 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM WFM
08 IGSO-3 BDS-2 37,384 Rubidium 2011-04-10 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM WFM
09 IGSO-4 BDS-2 37,763 Rubidium 2011-07-27 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM WFM
10 IGSO-5 BDS-2 37,948 Rubidium 2011-12-02 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
11 MEO-3 BDS-2 38,250 Rubidium 2012-04-30 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
12 MEO-4 BDS-2 38,251 Rubidium 2012-04-30 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
13 IGSO-6 BDS-2 41,434 Rubidium 2016-03-30 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
14 MEO-6 BDS-2 38,775 Rubidium 2012-09-19 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
16 IGSO-7 BDS-2 43,539 Rubidium 2018-07-10 Operational B1I/B2I/B3I WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
19 MEO-1 BDS-3 43,001 Rubidium 2017-11-05 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
20 MEO-2 BDS-3 43,002 Rubidium 2017-11-05 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
21 MEO-3 BDS-3 43,208 Rubidium 2018-02-12 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
22 MEO-4 BDS-3 43,207 Rubidium 2018-02-12 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM WFM
23 MEO-5 BDS-3 43,581 Rubidium 2018-07-29 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
24 MEO-6 BDS-3 43,582 Rubidium 2018-07-29 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
25 MEO-11 BDS-3 43,603 Hydrogen 2018-08-25 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM WFM
26 MEO-12 BDS-3 43,602 Hydrogen 2018-08-25 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
27 MEO-7 BDS-3 43,107 Hydrogen 2018-01-12 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
28 MEO-8 BDS-3 43,108 Hydrogen 2018-01-12 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM WFM
29 MEO-9 BDS-3 43,245 Hydrogen 2018-03-30 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
30 MEO-10 BDS-3 43,246 Hydrogen 2018-03-30 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
31 IGSO-1S BDS-3S 40,549 Hydrogen 2015-03-30 Experiment —
32 MEO-13 BDS-3 43,622 Rubidium 2018-09-19 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
33 MEO-14 BDS-3 43,623 Rubidium 2018-09-19 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
34 MEO-15 BDS-3 43,648 Hydrogen 2018-10-15 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
35 MEO-16 BDS-3 43,647 Hydrogen 2018-10-15 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
36 MEO-17 BDS-3 43,706 Rubidium 2018-11-19 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM WFM
37 MEO-18 BDS-3 43,707 Rubidium 2018-11-19 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
38 IGSO-1 BDS-3 44,204 Hydrogen 2019-04-20 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM WFM
39 IGSO-2 BDS-3 44,337 Hydrogen 2019-06-25 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
40 IGSO-3 BDS-3 44,709 Hydrogen 2019-11-05 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
41 MEO-19 BDS-3 44,864 Hydrogen 2019-12-16 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM
42 MEO-20 BDS-3 44,865 Hydrogen 2019-12-16 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
43 MEO-21 BDS-3 44,794 Hydrogen 2019-11-23 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
44 MEO-22 BDS-3 44,793 Hydrogen 2019-11-23 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
45 MEO-23 BDS-3 44,543 Rubidium 2019-09-23 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM WFM WFM, RWFM WFM
46 MEO-24 BDS-3 44,542 Rubidium 2019-09-23 Operational B1I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b WFM, RWFM WFM, RWFM WFM WFM, RWFM
56 IGSO-2S BDS-3S 40,938 Hydrogen 2015-09-30 Experiment —
57 MEO-1S BDS-3S 40,749 Rubidium 2015-07-25 Experiment —
58 MEO-2S BDS-3S 40,748 Rubidium 2015-07-25 Experiment —
59 GEO-1 BDS-3 43,683 Hydrogen 2018-11-01 Operational B1I/B3I
60 GEO-2 BDS-3 45,344 Hydrogen 2020-03-09 Operational B1I/B3I
61 GEO-3 BDS-3 45,807 Hydrogen 2020-06-23 Testing B1I/B3I

  1. Satellites C01-C05,C56-C61 were not analyzed due to either a lack of data or a very short period in orbit. aPseudorandom noise. bSpace vehicle number. cNORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) catalog number, NORAD ID.

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Received: 2022-09-22
Accepted: 2023-02-08
Published Online: 2023-02-21
Published in Print: 2023-07-27

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2022-0037
Keywords for this article
atomic clocks; BeiDou; clock; GNSS; MGEX

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Investigation of the trade-off between the complexity of the accelerometer bias model and the state estimation accuracy in INS/GNSS integration
  4. Original Research Articles
  5. Solution for ill-posed EIV model regularization attending to its decreasing regularization characteristic
  6. Trajectory evaluation using repeated rail-bound measurements
  7. Global geopotential models evaluation based on terrestrial gravity data over Ethiopia
  8. A calculation method for GNSS positioning precision based on the posteriori unit weight variance
  9. Accuracy and reliability of BeiDou clocks
  10. Positioning performance with dual-frequency low-cost GNSS receivers
  11. Estimating 3D displacement vectors from line-of-sight observations with application to MIMO-SAR
  12. Determination of the height reference surface for the Republic of Albania by using global geopotential models
  13. An integrated adaptive Kalman filter for improving the reliability of navigation systems
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