INVITED

PAPER

Evolution of the Global

Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS)
This growing civil aviation system is expected to replace a significant number of ground
based navigation systems and allow for more efficient use of the world wide airspace.
By Christopher J. Hegarty, Senior Member IEEE , and Eric Chatre

ABSTRACT | The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is Ba worldwide position and time determination system that
the worldwide set of satellite navigation constellations, civil includes one or more satellite constellations, aircraft
aviation augmentations, and user equipment. This paper receivers and system integrity monitoring, augmented as
reviews the current status and future plans of the elements necessary to support the required navigation performance
of GNSS as it pertains to civil aviation. The paper addresses the for the intended operation[ [1]. This paper reviews the
following satellite navigation systems: the U.S. Global Position- current status and future plans for the components of
ing System (GPS), Russian GLONASS, European Galileo, Chinese GNSS and civil aviation applications.
Compass, Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System, and Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System. The paper also describes
aviation augmentations including aircraft-based, satellite- I I. CONSTELLATIONS
based, ground-based, and ground-based regional augmenta- Current international GNSS standards for civil aviationV
tion systems defined by the International Civil Aviation ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)
Organization. Lastly, this paper details typical user equipment [1]Vaddress only two core constellations: the U.S.
configurations and civil aviation applications of GNSS including Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian Feder-
navigation, automatic dependent surveillance, terrain aware- ation’s GLONASS. The ICAO Navigation Systems Panel
ness warning systems, and timing. (NSP), chartered with updating the GNSS SARPs, has on
its current work program the addition of material on
KEYWORDS | Aircraft-based augmentation system (ABAS); Galileo, an emerging European satellite navigation system.
automatic dependent surveillance (ADS); Compass; Galileo; This section describes the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo
ground-based augmentation system (GBAS); GLONASS; Global programs. Also addressed are planned future satellite
Navigation Satellite System (GNSS); Global Positioning System navigation systems, which may or may not be adopted
(GPS); ground-based regional augmentation system (GRAS); internationally for civil aviation use.
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS); Quasi
Zenith Satellite System (QZSS); satellite-based augmentation
A. Global Positioning System (GPS)
system (SBAS); terrain awareness warning system (TAWS)
The GPS [2]–[5] is a satellite navigation system
operated by the United States. The GPS program began
I. INTRODUCTION in the early 1970s [2], [3]. Eleven developmental prototype
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) GPS Block I satellites were built by Rockwell International
defines the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as and launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California between February 1978 and November 1985
(one Block I was destroyed in a launch failure). These were
Manuscript received November 6, 2007; revised June 7, 2008. Current version
published January 16, 2009.
followed by operational satellites: nine Block II satellites
C. J. Hegarty is with The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA 01730 USA (e-mail: launched in 1989 and 1990, 19 Block IIA satellites (see
[email protected]).
E. Chatre is with the GNSS Supervisory Authority, Brussels, Belgium (e-mail:
Fig. 1) launched between 1990 and 1997, and 13 Block IIR
[email protected]). satellites launched between 1996 and 2004 (one, the first,
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/JPROC.2008.2006090 Block IIR satellite was destroyed in a launch failure). At

1902 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 0018-9219/$25.00 Ó 2008 IEEE
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

1994 [8]. The commitment to provide GPS SPS service was

reiterated in 2007 [9], with an additional commitment
made at that time to provide GPS satellite-based augmen-
tation system (SBAS) services in North America, free of
direct user charges, through the FAA’s Wide Area Augmen-
tation System (WAAS) (see Section III-A for a description of
SBASs, including WAAS).
At one time, the accuracy of the SPS was intentionally
degraded using a technique referred to as selective
availability (SA), which was observed to be implemented
as a pseudorandom dithering of the satellite clock that
could be removed only by PPS receivers with knowledge of
the generation algorithm and cryptographic keys [3]. On
May 1, 2000, the intentional degradation of SPS perfor-
mance due to SA was ceased [10]. More recently, in
September 2007, the United States announced that the
capability to implement SA will be removed from future
GPS satellite procurements [11].
Fig. 1. Block IIA satellite. The specified accuracy of the GPS SPS is 13 m, 95% for
horizontal positioning and 22 m, 95% for vertical
positioning [6]. This specification is for the signal-in-space
(SIS) only (i.e., it does not include errors due to the
the time of the writing of this paper, six of eight modern- atmosphere, multipath, or user equipment) and is based
ized Block IIR (IIR-M) satellites have been launched. The upon a global average. Actual performance is typically
Block II and IIA satellites were built by Rockwell Inter- significantly better than the specification. For instance, the
national, and the Block IIR and IIR-M satellites were built observed 95% horizontal and vertical positioning accura-
by Lockheed Martin Corporation and its navigation cies for 28 GPS SPS receivers distributed throughout
payload subcontractor, ITT Aerospace/Communications.
In total, 57 GPS satellites have been successfully placed Table 1 Nominal GPS Constellation Slot Locations [6]
in orbit, with 31 currently operational. The operational
satellites include 13 Block IIA, 12 Block IIR, and six Block
IIR-M satellites. The capabilities of these satellites and
future blocks will be described later in this section.
The operational GPS satellites are nominally main-
tained within 24 orbital slots [6]. These slots reside within
circular orbits inclined 55 with respect to the equatorial
plane. Four slots are contained in each of six orbital planes,
A–F (see Table 1), with an orbital radius of 26 559.7 km.
The constellation design includes asymmetrical spacing in
argument of latitude between satellites within each plane,
which was determined to provide robustness in perfor-
mance against satellite failures [7]. Excess satellites are
typically launched into locations adjacent to slots that
contain satellites expected to require replacement the
soonest.
GPS presently provides two servicesVone for civilian
users referred to as the Standard Positioning Service (SPS)
and one available only to authorized users (primarily the
U.S. military, and the militaries of U.S. allies) referred to
as the Precise Positioning Service (PPS). The United States
has pledged to make the GPS SPS available for civil avia-
tion use on a continuous worldwide basis, free of direct
user fees, with a minimum of six years’ advance notice to
be provided in the event that this service will be termi-
nated. This commitment was initially made by the admin-
istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1903
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

North America from October 1–December 31, 2007, were

2.5 and 4.9 m, respectively [12]. Further, the data reported
in [12] include all real-world errors, whereas the accuracy
specification in the SPS Performance Standard [6] only
includes SIS errors.
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is utilized for
all the GPS signals, i.e., all of the satellites broadcast their
signals upon the same carrier frequencies. The Block I
through Block IIR satellites broadcast navigation signals
upon two carrier frequencies, referred to as Link 1 (L1) at
1575.42 MHz and Link 2 (L2) at 1227.6 MHz. For these
satellites, two direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS)
signals with rectangular symbols are broadcast in phase
quadrature on L1 [13]. The coarse/acquisition (C/A) code
signal has a 1.023 MHz chipping rate and the Precision (P)
code signal has a 10.23 MHz chipping rate. The C/A code is
generated using length-1023 Gold codes [14], which repeat
every millisecond. The P code is a week long when
unencrypted but is normally encrypted to deter spoofing,
and when it is, it is referred to as the Y code. An identical
P(Y) code signal is also broadcast on the L2 carrier. Both
the C/A and P(Y) code signals are further modulated by the
same 50 bps data. This 50 bps data stream includes
information required for navigation including the ephem-
eris, clock corrections, and health information for the
broadcasting satellite, as well as almanac data for the Fig. 2. Block IIR-M satellite (courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation).
entire constellation.
The Block IIR-M satellites (see Fig. 2) introduced two
new navigation signalsVa new military signal on L1 and signal are both referred to as Link 5 (L5) [19], [20]. L5 is
L2 referred to as the M code [15] and a new civil signal on generated with DSSS modulation using rectangular sym-
L2 referred to as L2C [13], [16]. Both of these new signal bols and a 10.23 MHz chipping rate. As with the other
types have advanced designs that include a dataless signal modernized GPS signals (e.g., L2C and M code), L5 in-
component and forward error correction of the navigation cludes a dataless signal component and forward error cor-
data to enable robust tracking and data demodulation by rection of the navigation data for robust tracking and data
user equipment. L2C uses DSSS modulation with demodulation.
rectangular symbols and a 1.023 MHz chipping rate. The L5 signal is located within the 960–1215 MHz
ICAO decided against including L2C within the GNSS band that is used worldwide by civil aviation for distance
SARPs in 2002 because the L2 band is shared with measuring equipment (DME). DME provides aircraft with
radiolocation (radars), fixed services, and mobile services range measurements to ground sites using high-power
in some regions, and reception of L2C without interfer- pulsed transmissions from airborne interrogators and
ence from other services could thus not be ensured ground-based beacons. The 960–1215 MHz band is also
worldwide. used by other high-power pulsed systems, including the
The M code uses DSSS modulation with a 5.115 MHz Joint Tactical/Multifunctional Information Distribution
chipping rate and a spread-spectrum symbol that is two System (a military tactical communication system),
cycles of a 10.23 MHz square wave. This DSSS modulation Tactical Air Navigation, and secondary surveillance radars.
variant is referred to as binary offset carrier (BOC) [17] For this reason, pulse blanking [21] is envisioned for GPS
and may alternatively be viewed, and in practice may be L5 avionics, and the L5 signal is designed with a much
generated, as the product of 1) an ordinary DSSS signal higher minimum received power level of 154.9 dBW [20]
using rectangular symbols and 2) a square wave subcarrier. than the other civil GPS signals. For comparison, the GPS
After the eight Block IIR-M satellites are launched, C/A code and L2C signals have minimum specified re-
follow-on satellites, referred to as Block IIF satellites, will ceived power levels of 158.5 and 160 dBW, respec-
be launched. The Block IIF satellites [18] are being built by tively [13]. All of the GPS civil signal minimum power
Boeing, and 12 of these vehicles are anticipated to be levels are specified at the output terminals of a 3 dBi
placed in orbit beginning in 2009. The Block IIF satellites linearly polarized user antenna at worst normal orien-
will add an additional civil navigation signal on a new carrier tation. Although airborne GPS antennas are nominally
frequency. The new carrier frequency, at 1176.45 MHz, and right hand circularly polarized like the broadcast GPS

1904 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Fig. 3. Evolution of GPS signals.

signals, low-profile antennas tend to be dominantly distributed Sun workstation configuration. This MCS
linearly (vertically) polarized towards low-elevation angle modernization program is referred to as the Architecture
satellites. Evolution Plan (AEP). A further evolution of the CS is
The procurement of the GPS satellites to follow the planned in a program referred to as OCX. The Air Force is
Block IIFs is currently under way. The next-generation in the process of selecting a contractor for the OCX
GPS vehicles are referred to as Block III. These spacecraft program to develop and build the next-generation CS.
will broadcast an additional L1 civil signal (L1C), which
will employ a signal that is created using a BOC B. GLONASS
modulation with a 1.023 MHz chipping rate and time- GLONASS is a satellite navigation system operated by
multiplexed mixture of symbols that are derived from 1.023 the Russian Federation. The first GLONASS satellite was
and 6.138 MHz square wave subcarriers [22], [23]. The launched in October 1982. A total of 81 GLONASS and
Block III satellites are anticipated to be launched beginning 14 modified GLONASS (GLONASS-M) satellites have been
in 2014. launched successfully thus far. However, the GLONASS
Fig. 3 illustrates the evolution of the GPS signals from satellites have a short design life (1 to 3 y [4]). After peaking
the Block I through the Block III satellites. Shown on the briefly at 24 satellites in 1995, the constellation has
figure are the normalized power spectral densities of the decayed and at the time of the writing of this paper consists
various GPS signals in decibels. For reference in viewing of only 13 operational satellites.
the figure, the bandwidths spanned between the first Fortunately, the GLONASS program has been rein-
spectral nulls of the P(Y) code and L5 signals are each vigorated in recent years. The Russian Federation passed
20.46 MHz. Decree Number 587 in August 2001, which called for the
The GPS satellites are monitored, commanded, and GLONASS constellation to be rebuilt within a decade.
controlled by a ground network referred to as the GPS Twenty-four satellites have been launched since 2001, and
control segment (CS). The CS includes a master control current plans call for 24 operational satellites by 2010 [24].
station (MCS) at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, a The GLONASS constellation nominally consists of
global set of monitor stations, and ground antennas. The 24 satellites in three orbital planes, with an inclination
CS has recently undergone two significant transitions. The angle of 64.8 and an altitude of 19 100 km [25]. A
first major transition was the addition of a number of new Walker [26] 24/3/1 constellation design is employed, where
monitor stations, which began in the Legacy Accuracy the notation BWalker T/P/F[ denotes a constellation of
Improvement Initiative (L-AII) program, taking the total T satellites in circular orbits equally divided and equally
number of monitor stations from six to 14, with a future spaced within P planes with an offset in mean anomaly
anticipated total of 17 [4]. The second major transition, between the first satellite in each plane of 360  F=T.
completed in October 2007, consisted of upgrading of the The current GLONASS satellites broadcast navigation
MCS from a legacy system based upon an IBM mainframe signals in two subbands of L-band referred to as L1 and L2.
computer to a more modern system based upon a A frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) design for

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1905
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

the signals are utilized, with the L1 carrier frequencies 1202–1208 MHz. The civil L3 signals will use DSSS
given by modulation with rectangular chips, like the L1 and L2 civil
GLONASS signals, but will employ a much higher chipping
rate on the order of 4 MHz. The evolution of the GLONASS
fK1 ¼ f01 þ K 
f1 FDMA signals is shown in Fig. 5.
A recent development in GLONASS is that CDMA
signals, in addition to the FDMA signals described above,
and the L2 carrier frequencies by
are being considered for the GLONASS-K satellites and
beyond. The FDMA approach for GLONASS, with each
fK2 ¼ f02 þ K 
f2 signal on a separate carrier frequency, leads to slightly
more complex user equipment. Further, group delay
variations across the passband of receivers can result in
where f01 ¼ 1602 MHz, f02 ¼ 1246 MHz,
f1 ¼ 0:5625 MHz, biases in the measurements made from one signal to the

f2 ¼ 0:4375 MHz, and K is the channel number. The next. These biases can impact the achievable accuracy
channel numbers originally spanned from zero to þ13, unless sophisticated calibration techniques are employed.
but to protect the radio astronomy service in the 1610.6– CDMA GLONASS signals at 1575 and 1176 MHz are
1613.8 and 1660–1670 MHz bands, Russia has committed tentatively planned for GLONASS-K and beyond, utilizing
to migrate away from using the upper channels. A range of signal designs similar to the GPS L1C and L5 signals [24].
channel numbers from 7 to þ6 is indicated in [25], but The GLONASS system architecture includes a ground
current plans call for a broader end-state channel range of control segment with ten monitor stations distributed
7 to þ9 [24]. The currently operational satellites use throughout Russia, and additional facilities to command
channels from 2 to þ6. Since there are more satellites in and control the satellites. GLONASS provides user equip-
the nominal GLONASS constellation than there are chan- ment with their positions in the Earth Parameter System
nels, two GLONASS satellites may transmit upon the same 1990 (PZ-90), whereas ICAO standards require that navi-
channel number if they are in antipodal slots within the gation systems provide user location in the World Geodetic
same orbital plane [25]. It should be noted that all of the System 1984 (WGS-84) coordinate system used by GPS. In
GLONASS signals broadcast by the same satellite are co- the past, a transformation was required to convert from
herently derived from the same clock and the L2 carrier PZ-90 to WGS-84 coordinates. In September 2007, an
frequencies are 7/9 the L1 frequencies. adjustment was made to the PZ-90 system to tie it more
The GLONASS satellites broadcast two direct DSSS tightly with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame
navigation signals with rectangular symbols on the L1 2000 (ITRF 2000) [24]. WGS-84 is routinely adjusted to
carriers [25]. The standard accuracy signal, intended for
civil use worldwide, is generated using a length-511 maxi-
mal length sequence and a 0.511 MHz chipping rate. The
high accuracy signal has a 5.11 MHz chipping rate and is only
intended for use by the Russian Ministry of Defence and
entities it authorizes. Navigation data are modulated upon
the signals at 50 bps, without forward error correction. The
20-ms data symbols are Manchester encoded. The former
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics offered GLONASS for
civil aviation use, free of direct user fees, to ICAO in 1988
[4]. On May 18, 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin
signed a decree reiterating the offer to provide GLONASS
civil signals, free of direct user fees, to the world.
On the GLONASS satellites, only the high accuracy
signal is broadcast on the L2 carriers. The GLONASS-M
satellites (see Fig. 4) broadcast both the high and standard
accuracy signals on the L2 carriers, and further have an
improved design life of 7 y [24].
The next generation GLONASS satellites are currently
in development. The GLONASS-K satellites are antici-
pated to be launched beginning in the 2009–2010 time-
frame [24], and will broadcast navigation signals in an
additional sub-band. The new sub-band is referred to as L3.
The GLONASS L3 carrier frequencies will be 94/125 the
L1 carrier frequencies, placing them in the range of Fig. 4. GLONASS-M satellite.

1906 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Fig. 5. Evolution of GLONASS FDMA signals.

maintain close alignment with the ITRF, and differences in identified to cover the widest range of users needs,
terrestrial coordinates between the two systems are now including professional users, scientists, mass-market users,
consistent to within 2 cm. Efforts are under way to safety of life, and public regulated domains. The Galileo
determine the appropriate transformation, if a transforma- navigation services can be enhanced on a local basis
tion is indeed necessary, to convert from PZ-90 to WGS-84 through combination with local elements for applications
after the September 2007 adjustment. with more demanding requirements and depending on
specific environmental characteristics.
C. Galileo The Open Service (OS) results from a combination of
Galileo is a planned European satellite navigation system. open signals. This provides position and timing perfor-
Galileo is specifically designed for civil and commercial pur- mances commensurate with the ones offered by other
poses and will be interoperable with the other radio-navigation GNSS constellations. The Safety of Life Service (SoL) im-
systems. This will be beneficial to all users as they will be able proves the open service performance by providing timely
to use more satellites for redundancy and higher accuracy. A warnings to the users when it cannot guarantee to meet
Galileo satellite is illustrated in Fig. 6. certain margins of accuracy (integrity). It is envisaged that
a service guarantee will be provided for this service. The
1) Services: Four distinct navigation services and one Commercial Service (CS) provides access to two additional
service to support search and rescue operations have been signals, to allow for a higher data rate throughput and to
enable users to improve accuracy through advanced pro-
cessing techniques. The Public Regulated Service (PRS)
provides position and timing to specific users requiring a
high continuity of service, with controlled access. The
performance requirements for the OS and SoL services,
which are anticipated to be used for civil aviation appli-
cations, are summarized in Table 2. The definitions of the
performance parameters related to accuracy, integrity
(e.g., integrity risk, alert limit, and time to alert), and
continuity are provided in Section V of this paper.

2) Infrastructure: The core of the Galileo system will be a

global constellation of 27 satellites in three medium Earth
orbit (MEO) orbital planes inclined at 56 to the equator at
about 23 000 km altitude in a Walker 27/3/1 configuration
Fig. 6. Artist’s view of a Galileo satellite. European Space Agency, [27]. Each plane will have one active spare, able to cover
J. Huart (reprinted with permission). for any failed satellite in that plane. Thus far, one test

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1907
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Table 2 Performance Requirements for the GALILEO Open and global network of nominally five tracking, telemetry,
Safety-of-Life Services
and control stations to communicate with each satellite.
The GMS collects data from a global network of around
30 Galileo sensor stations to monitor the navigation signals
of all satellites on a continuous basis and communicates
with the Galileo satellites through a global network of
mission ULSs, installed at five sites. The GMS is in charge
of orbit and time synchronization functions as well as the
provision of integrity data for the SoL service.

3) Signals: The Galileo navigation signals are transmitted

in the four frequency bands indicated in Fig. 7. These four
frequency bands are referred to as E5a, E5b, E6, and E1. They
provide a wide bandwidth for the transmission of the Galileo
signals. The Galileo frequency bands have been selected in
spectrum allocated globally for radionavigation satellite
services (RNSS) and, in addition to that, the E5a, E5b, and
E1 bands are included in the allocated spectrum for
aeronautical radionavigation services (ARNS), employed by
civil-aviation users, and allowing dedicated safety-critical
applications. The frequency bands are also either overlapping
or contiguous to frequency bands used by other GNSS
constellations. This will favor the combined use of several
constellations to increase performance and robustness of the
navigation services offered to the user communities.
satellite named GIOVE-A was launched in December 2005, CDMA is used within each frequency band. The Galileo
and a second test satellite, GIOVE-B, was launched in signals are all coherently generated from the same clock
April 2008. Four in-orbit validation satellites are antici- and employ either DSSS modulation with rectangular
pated to be launched in 2009, and the entire constellation symbols or BOC modulations. The signals that support the
will be populated by approximately 2013. OS and SoL services include a signal in the E1 band with
A number of interconnected ground facilities will allow the same spectral characteristics as the GPS L1C signal
the accomplishment of the various services, including two [28], and signals in the E5a and E5b bands that resemble a
Galileo control centers, five monitoring and control pair of DSSS modulations with rectangular symbols and
stations, and five mission uplink stations (ULSs) to enable 10.23 MHz chipping rates. More detailed descriptions of
global coverage without interruptions. The Galileo control the Galileo signals may be found in [4] and [29].
centers comprise two separate types of facilities: a ground
control segment (GCS) and a ground mission segment D. Compass
(GMS). The GCS will support spacecraft and constellation The BeiDou/Compass Navigation Test System (BNTS)
maintenance, whereas the mission segment is directly is the first Chinese satellite navigation system. This system,
handling the navigation system control. The GCS will use a which closely mirrors the design of the failed U.S. Geostar

Fig. 7. Galileo frequency bands.

1908 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

system, is capable of providing two-dimensional position the signals broadcast by the first CNSS MEO are repre-
accuracies on the order of 20–100 m using two-way range sentative of the final design.
measurements between the user equipment and geosta-
tionary satellites [4]. The system also provides low-rate E. Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)
bidirectional communications and differential GPS/ The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) [4], [34] is a
GLONASS services. Three BNTS satellites were launched satellite navigation system that is being developed by the
in October 2000, December 2000, and May 2003 into government of Japan. QZSS is not intended to provide a
geostationary orbits at longitudes of 80 E, 140 E, and standalone navigation capability, but rather to improve the
110.5 E, respectively [4], [30]. performance of GPS in Japan, particularly in urban
China is planning to enhance their satellite navigation environments where buildings obscure visibility of much
system’s capabilities into a system capable of providing of the sky.
accurate three-dimensional positioning worldwide. The The planned QZSS constellation consists of three
end-state system is referred to as the Compass/BeiDou satellites in elliptical orbits at geosynchronous altitude
Navigation Satellite System (CNSS). The space segment of (around 35 786 km) inclined 45 to the equatorial plane in
CNSS will consist of 30 MEO satellites at an altitude of three orbital planes with the same ground track. The
around 21 490 km and five geostationary (i.e., circular ground track forms a figure-eight pattern with the
orbits in the equatorial plane at an approximate altitude of northern portion of the ground track covering a much
35 786 km such that the satellite circles the Earth at smaller geographical area than the southern portion due to
precisely the same rate the Earth rotates and thus appears an eccentricity of orbit of around 0.099. Inclined geosta-
stationary to an observer on the Earth) satellites. Two ser- tionary orbits, such as are used by QZSS, are sometimes
vices are planned. The Open Service will provide accuracies referred to as tundra orbits and allow a small number of
of 10 m in positioning, 0.2 m/s in velocity, and 50 ns in time satellites to provide good coverage over a limited geogra-
dissemination [30]. The second service is the Authorized phic region. The central line of the ground track is at
Service, which is only intended for entities authorized by 135 E in longitude. A program objective is to launch the
the Chinese government (e.g., the Chinese military). An first satellite in 2009, and the second and third satellite
experimental test CNSS satellite was launched into geosta- within several years to follow [34].
tionary orbit in February 2007, and the first Chinese MEO The QZSS satellites will broadcast six CDMA naviga-
satellite navigation satellite was launched in April 2007. tion signals on four carrier frequencies [35]. The carrier
CNSS services are anticipated to be available in China and frequencies are 1575.42 MHz (common with GPS L1 and
neighboring countries by 2008, and will be expanded Galileo E1), 1278.75 MHz (common with Galileo E6),
globally in the succeeding years with the population of the 1227.6 MHz (common with GPS L2), and 1176.45 MHz
MEO constellation. (common with GPS L5).
The BNTS transponders utilize uplink frequencies in
the 1610–1626.5 MHz band and downlink frequencies in F. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
the 2483.5–2500 MHz band. CNSS is a CDMA-based System (IRNSS)
system with DSSS signals planned on four carrier The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
frequencies: 1207.14 MHz (shared with GALILEO E5b), (IRNSS) [36] is a satellite navigation system planned by
1268.52 MHz (shared with GALILEO E6), 1561.098 MHz India. The system is being implemented by the Indian
(E2), and 1589.742 MHz (E1). Note that, as for GALILEO, Space Research Organisation. The overall system will
this frequency plan is influenced by GPSVthe set of consist of seven satellites. Three of the satellites will be
carrier frequencies are all derivable from the GPS placed in geostationary orbits with longitudes of 34 E,
fundamental clock frequency of 10.23 MHz. 83 E, and 132 E. The four remaining satellites will be
The signal design for CNSS has not yet been published placed at geostationary altitudes, but in tundra orbits
by the Chinese. Various organizations, however, have been inclined 29 with respect to the equatorial plane, such that
observing the signals broadcast by the first CNSS MEO the subsatellite points on Earth trace figure-eight patterns
[31]–[33]. Based upon these measurement campaigns, the with centers on the equator at 55 E and 111 E in longitude.
first MEO has been broadcasting DSSS signals with rec- The intended service volume is bounded in longitude
tangular chips on E2, E5b, and E6. Two signals in phase between 40 E and 140 E and in latitude between 40 S
quadrature, each with a 2.046 MHz chipping rate, have and 40 N, and the anticipated system accuracy is 20 m.
been observed on E2. Two 10.23 MHz chipping rate signals Current plans call for the first satellite to be launched in
in phase quadrature have been observed on E6. Signals 2009, three additional satellites to be launched by the end of
with 2.046 and 10.23 MHz chipping rates, in phase quad- 2010, and the entire constellation to be operational by 2011.
rature, have been seen on E5b. The received CNSS power Three services are planned for IRNSS. The IRNSS
levels have been reported to be significantly stronger than Standard Positioning Service will be based upon DSSS
typical received GPS signal power levels [33]. No observa- signals with rectangular chips and a 1.023 MHz chipping
tions have yet been reported for E1. It is not clear whether rate broadcast at 1191.795 and 2491.005 MHz. A Precise

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1909
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Positioning Service will operate using the same carrier Current-generation SBAS GEOs broadcast directly on
frequencies and DSSS modulation type, but with a higher the GPS L1 carrier frequency of 1575.42 MHz. The SBAS
10.23 MHz chipping rate. Restricted Services will also be signal resembles the GPS C/A code signal, but a higher
provided via a 10.23 MHz chipping rate DSSS signal on the data rate of 250 bps is employed with forward error cor-
1191.795 MHz carrier frequency. rection encoding to enable all the requisite system data to
be provided to the user. Current-generation user equip-
ment process GPS C/A code and SBAS signals on L1 only.
III . AUGMENTATIONS SBAS is standardized internationally by ICAO [1].
Several SBAS systems are either already operational or
A. Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in development [38]. These include the WAAS [39]–[41]
A satellite-based augmentation system provides differ- in the United States, the European Geostationary Naviga-
ential corrections, integrity parameters, and ionospheric tion Overlay Service (EGNOS) [42] in Europe, the
data over a given region. An SBAS consists of a ground Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-Based Aug-
network of monitoring stations that collect GPS measure- mentation System (MSAS) [43] in Japan, and the GPS and
ments. The receivers in the ground network are dual GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system in India.
frequencyVcapable of tracking the GPS L1/L2 C/A code All SBAS systems can be received by a unique airborne
and L2 P(Y) code signals to determine the electron content receiver compliant to the internationally recognized RTCA
of the ionosphere integrated along the signal paths from DO-229 standard [44].
the visible satellites. Semicodeless processing techniques The U.S. WAAS, using a ground network with monitors
[37] are used to track the encrypted P(Y) code signals. throughout the United States and transponders on two
Some SBAS ground networks are capable of additionally Inmarsat-3 GEOs at 178 E and 54 W, was declared in
monitoring GLONASS L1 signals, but due to the current August 2000 to be offering continuous service for nonsafety
state of the GLONASS constellation this capability has not applications. In July 2003, WAAS was commissioned for
been utilized. Error corrections and integrity data are then safety-of-life services. WAAS services have recently
computed by a centralized facility. This information is migrated to two second-generation GEOs located at
then broadcast to the end users through a geostationary 133 W and 107 W (see Fig. 8), and the WAAS ground
(GEO) satellite link. network has been expanded into Canada and Mexico. The

Fig. 8. Footprints of second-generation WAAS GEOs.

1910 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

second-generation WAAS GEOs broadcast signals at both through III precision approach operations. A detailed
the GPS L1 and L5 carrier frequencies, although presently description of the GBAS concept and various implementa-
the L5 signal is only for use by the WAAS ground network. tions, including the U.S. Local Area Augmentation System,
It is envisioned that global SBAS services will eventually program may be found in [47].
migrate towards supporting dual-frequency user equip-
ment [41], [45]. C. Ground-Based Regional Augmentation
EGNOS service is based upon three GEOs: a European System (GRAS)
Space Agency Artemis satellite at 21.5 E and two The ground-based regional augmentation system
Inmarsat-3 GEOs at 15.5 W and 64.5 E. The EGNOS (GRAS) [48] is a blending of the SBAS and GBAS con-
ground network has been fully deployed, and the system is cepts. GRAS utilizes a distributed set of reference stations
expected to be commissioned for safety-of-life operations and centralized processing sites to compute differential
by 2009. GNSS corrections and integrity data, like SBAS. However,
The Japanese SBAS-MSAS utilizes two GEOs and a rather than using geostationary satellites to broadcast the
ground network distributed throughout Japan plus monitor data to users like SBAS, GRAS relies on a VHF broadcast
and ranging stations in Canberra, Australia, and Honolulu, using the GBAS physical link and message format. GRAS is
HI. MTSAT-1R was launched in February 2005 and is lo- currently being developed in Australia and is anticipated to
cated at 140 E. MTSAT-2 was launched in February 2006 be fully available in 2009.
and is located at 145 E. The MSAS system was commis-
sioned for safety-of-life services in September 2007. D. Aircraft-Based Augmentation System (ABAS)
GAGAN is currently under development [46]. The ICAO defines an aircraft-based augmentation system
design includes eight reference stations distributed (ABAS) as Ban augmentation system that augments and/or
throughout India. At present an Inmarsat-4 GEO is being integrates the information obtained from the other GNSS
used for system testing. The system is anticipated to be elements with information available on board the aircraft.[
fully operational by 2010. ABAS includes methods to provide integrity monitoring
through either the exploitation of redundant GNSS
B. Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) measurements referred to as receiver autonomous integrity
A ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) provides monitoring (RAIM) (see Fig. 9 and [49]) or through the use
differential corrections and integrity data for the GPS or of onboard sensors (e.g., barometric altimeters, inertial
GLONASS open signals using redundant reference stations navigation systems, other navigation systems). ABAS also
situated at an airport and a very high-frequency data (VHF) includes the use of other onboard sensors to enhance
data broadcast. GBAS is intended to provide area continuity, availability, or accuracy over that provided by
navigation in the terminal area and support Category I the other elements of GNSS [50].

Fig. 9. Illustration of RAIM concept through an analogy of (a) a two-dimensional problem involving noisy measurements of a linear relationship
and (b) the four-dimensional problem of solving user position and clock error in GNSS.

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1911
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Fig. 11. Typical integration of MMR within air transport aircraft

navigation system.

conformal antenna that is 4.7  2.9  0.75 in3 , with the

height dimension (0.75 in) only accounting for the portion
Fig. 10. Multi-mode receiver, approximately 7.85  5  14 in3 , of the unit protruding above the fuselage. Additional
15 lbs (courtesy of Rockwell-Collins).
inputs to the MMRs may be supplied from the flight
management system (FMS) or other navigation sensors for
initialization purposes, as well as from control units (not
IV. AIRCRAFT RECEIVERS shown) for, e.g., mode selection and channel tuning. The
outputs of the MMRs are provided to the FMS and also to
A. Air Transport flight displays, autopilot, and terrain awareness warning
Air transport aircraft typically carry redundant multi- system (TAWS). The FMS may implement integrity moni-
mode receivers (MMRs) as the onboard GNSS sensor (see toring or performance enhancement of the GNSS input
Fig. 10). As of April 2002, it was estimated that more than through cross-checking or blending with other available
16 000 MMRs had been purchased for use in the worldwide navigation sensor inputs.
air transport fleet [51]. These receivers are referred to as
multimode because they also provide other navigation sensor B. Regional/Business
functionality. Two major form factors in use include the There are a wide range of GNSS avionics configurations
digital MMR [52] and the analog MMR [53]. The digital within regional/business aircraft. Larger aircraft within this
MMR provides GNSS, instrument landing system (ILS), and category often include sophisticated navigation systems,
optional microwave landing system (MLS) receiver capabil- similar to those described for air transport aircraft above
ities within a single unit. A typical analog MMR additionally but with the GNSS sensor typically installed as a separate
provides very high-frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) unit (as opposed to being integrated within a MMR).
and marker beacon receiver functionality. Smaller regional/business aircraft may utilize panel mount
Although some MMRs include hardware to process GNSS sensors, as is common with general aviation aircraft
GLONASS signals, this capability is largely a growth path, installations to be described in the following section.
and current generation MMRs rely primarily if not ex-
clusively on the GPS L1 C/A code signals for their GNSS C. General Aviation
functionality. Many fielded MMRs do not include SBAS Although high-end general aviation aircraft may include
and GBAS functionality, but newer products are including distributed navigation systems similar to those employed by
these capabilities. The majority of air transport aircraft regional/business aircraft, a more common configuration is
operators have thus far displayed greater interest in GBAS the use of a panel mount unit (see Fig. 12). A typical panel-
than in SBAS due to the greater perceived operational mount unit integrates GPS/SBAS with ILS/VOR, and VHF
benefits for the former system versus the latter. All fielded communications functionality. It has been estimated that
MMRs, at a minimum, use RAIM for integrity monitoring. well over 100 000 panel mount receivers have thus far been
A typical integration of MMRs within an air transport sold by one prominent manufacturer. More than 30 000 of
aircraft’s navigation system is shown in Fig. 11. Redundant these units include SBAS functionality.
GNSS and VOR/ILS antennas supply the requisite inputs
to the redundant MMRs. The GNSS antennas are top-
mounted on the aircraft for good visibility of the satellites, V. A VI AT I ON A PP LI C AT I ON S
typically near the centerline of the fuselage, fore of the
wings to avoid blockage and multipath from the wings and A. Navigation
tail structure. A common form factor for airborne GPS The primary application of GNSS for civil aviation is
antennas is specified in [54]. This form factor calls for a as a navigation sensor in instrument meteorological

1912 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

tion sensor errors are probabilistic, accuracy require-

ments are typically specified as horizontal and vertical
position error levels that are achieved with high
probability (e.g., 95%).
Integrity is the ability of navigation system to provide
timely warnings when the system cannot be safely used
for navigation. Integrity requirements for safety-critical
navigation applications are commonly specified using
three parameters: 1) an alert limit, 2) time-to-alert, and
3) integrity level or probability of hazardously misleading
information. An alert limit is the maximum allowable
navigation system position error before safety would be
unacceptably compromised if the user is not promptly no-
tified. The time-to-alert is the maximum allowable period
Fig. 12. Panel mount general aviation GPS receiver, approximately from the onset of an out-of-tolerance condition until an
6.25  4.60  11.0 in3 , 9.5 lbs (courtesy of Garmin). alert is provided. The integrity level or probability of haz-
ardously misleading information is the maximum accept-
able probability of occurrence of an out-of-tolerance
conditions for all phases of flight: departure, en route, condition without a timely alert.
nonprecision approach, and precision approach. GNSS Continuity is the capability of a navigation system to
offers many benefits over traditional navigation aids, in- perform its function without unscheduled interruptions
cluding facilitating area navigation (RNAV)Vthe ability to during the intended operation. Availability is the fraction
fly arbitrary routes rather than being constrained by the of time during which a system is usable to perform an
location of ground navigation facilities. Other benefits in- intended operation.
clude the provision of improved navigation services in Table 3 summarizes ICAO’s GNSS signal-in-space
areas that are not presently covered by ground navigation performance requirements. Note that although the GPS
aids and the possibility to alleviate some of the expense of SPS can meet the accuracy requirements for many phases of
maintaining expansive networks of ground navigation flight, it cannot achieve the integrity requirements for any
facilities. phase of flight without augmentation (ABAS, SBAS, or
Performance requirements for navigation sensors GBAS). For instance, the integrity requirements within the
generally fall within four categories: accuracy, integrity, GPS SPS Performance Standard are based upon the possible
continuity, and availability. Accuracy is the degree of con- occurrence of up to three major service failures per year,
formance between true aircraft position and that position each of 6 h in duration, where a major service failure is
estimate provided by the navigation sensor. Since naviga- defined as the presence of a large (over 30 m) range error for

Table 3 ICAO GNSS Signal-in-Space Performance Requirements

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1913
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

measurements to a satellite without the user being able to compiled by the FAA from data available circa 2005. An
detect this from the satellite’s broadcast navigation data [6]. emerging concept in navigation at the present time is
Most of the operations listed in Table 3 have been required navigation performance (RNP), which is defined
defined for decades and may be performed using tradi- to be RNAV operations with navigation containment and
tional ground navigation aids where available. En route monitoring [56]. Many RNP procedures have been
through nonprecision approach applications only require developed or are planned worldwide with GNSS as one
horizontal position estimates from the navigation sensor enabling technology.
because these operations rely on vertical position estimates A number of countries, including the United States, are
from an onboard barometric altimeter. The approach with planning to decommission significant numbers of ground-
vertical guidance (APV) operations are newly defined to based navigation aids in the future as the GNSS infra-
tailor operations to the capabilities provided by GNSS. structure advances. A key concern with the increasing
Currently available user equipment can achieve the integ- reliance on satellite navigation is the vulnerability of GNSS
rity requirements for en route through non-precision ap- signals to unintentional or intentional radio frequency in-
proach using RAIM, SBAS, or GBAS, whereas SBAS or terference. Prudent means to address this concern include
GBAS is required for vertically guided operations except the retention of a subset of existing ground-based navig-
for aircraft with sophisticated ABAS capabilities (e.g., ation aids and the development of operational procedures
barometric vertical navigation). Researchers are currently to mitigate the impact of an event in which GNSS service is
exploring whether RAIM techniques can be applied to lost over a large geographic area.
meet precision approach (e.g., APV or Category I) require-
ments (see, for example, [55]). B. Automatic Dependent Surveillance
Many nations have approved GNSS operations in in- Automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) is a concept
strument meteorological conditions. Fig. 13 depicts na- whereby aircraft continually transmit position, intent, and
tions that have approved aviation operations using GPS, as other data to air traffic service facilities or to other aircraft.

Fig. 13. Nations that have approved GPS for aircraft navigation in instrument meteorological conditions
(courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration).

1914 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

ADS provides a number of benefits over radar-based sur- aircraft in Class A, B, and C airspace in the National Air-
veillance. These benefits include the provision to air traffic space System and Class E airspace at or above 10 000 ft
controllers of the location of aircraft in areas where radar mean sea level over the 48 contiguous states and the
coverage is infeasible or impractical, e.g., oceanic and re- District of Columbia, as well as airspace surrounding the
mote airspace. ADS systems can also supply aircraft intent busiest U.S. airports and portions of Class E airspace over
information, i.e., the planned trajectory of the aircraft, the Gulf of Mexico [60]. Within the U.S. proposal, aircraft
which is not available from radars. Modern ADS imple- flying at or above flight level 240 (FL240) would be re-
mentations also allow pilots to view the locations of quired to meet ADS-B performance requirements using the
nearby aircraft on cockpit displays, enhancing situational 1090 Extended Squitter (1090ES) broadcast link [61],
awareness. whereas aircraft flying below FL240 would be required to
There are two main types of ADS systems. The first meet ADS-B Out requirements with either the 1090ES
type, referred to as ADS-addressed (ADS-A) or ADS- link or the Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) broadcast
contract (ADS-C), involves transmitting an aircraft’s link [62].
location to a single air traffic services recipient over a Many other countries, including Australia, Canada,
point-to-point data link. The second type is ADS-broadcast and the member states of the European Union, are using
(ADS-B), in which an aircraft continually broadcasts its ADS-B operationally or have demonstration programs
position over a data link to air traffic services and other underway. Other countries, including China, Fiji, Hong
nearby aircraft. GNSS is the most commonly used onboard Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Singapore,
position sensor for the various ADS services that are and Thailand, are planning trials in the near future [63].
currently implemented worldwide.
The use of ADS for civil aviation was first studied in- C. Terrain Awareness Warning Systems
depth upon the establishment in 1983 of the ICAO Special Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), in which a
Committee on Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) [57]. perfectly functioning aircraft is inadvertently flown into
At that time, GPS and GLONASS were just two of several the ground, water, or an obstacle, has historically been a
navigation inputs for ADS that were considered. Other leading cause of aviation fatalities. Various technologies
candidates included OMEGA, inertial navigation systems, referred to as TAWS, ground proximity warning systems, or
VOR, DME, and Loran-C. ADS-C implementations using ground collision avoidance systems have been developed
GPS as the primary navigation input were tested in the with great success to reduce the occurrence rate of CFIT
early 1990s and implemented in some regions of the world [64]. Early technological solutions to CFIT employed
shortly after the certification in 1995 of Boeing’s FANS-1 onboard sensors including radio altimeters, air data
navigation system. Airbus later developed an ADS-C and systems, and inertial sensors to detect hazardous conditions
GPS-capable avionics package, FANS-A, which was first (e.g., excessive sink rate with respect to terrain clearance)
certified in 2000 on the Airbus A340/A330 family of air- and provide the crew with aural and visual warnings.
craft. Implementations involving FANS-1 and FANS-A Modern TAWS implementations add the use of GNSS
equipped aircraft combined with compatible ground sys- with an onboard terrain database to provide a forward-
tems are collectively referred to as FANS-1/A. FANS-1/A looking capability, and in some cases also depict terrain in
ADS-C implementations follow standards developed by the vicinity of the aircraft on a cockpit display. A forward-
RTCA [58] and ARINC [59] that are based upon a dedicated looking terrain awareness capability has been mandated by
data link connection between each equipped aircraft and ICAO, since January 1, 2007, for all turbine- or piston-
air traffic service provider and are still in operation. engined aircraft with a maximum certified takeoff mass in
The second form of ADS, ADS-B, is currently being excess of 5700 kg or authorized to carry more than nine
implemented in many areas of the world. ADS-B equipped passengers [65].
aircraft continually broadcast their position, intent, and
other information over a data link to nearby air traffic D. Timing
facilities and other suitably equipped aircraft. The broad- The GNSS is capable of disseminating precise time and
casting function is known as ADS-B Out, whereas the frequency. This capability is utilized by many applications
function enabling an aircraft to listen to ADS-B broadcasts including a number of aviation systems. As one example,
from other aircraft and air traffic facilities is referred to as the UAT is an aeronautical data link that supports ADS-B.
ADS-B In. Currently available airborne UAT equipment, which
The FAA is implementing ADS-B services throughout require knowledge of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
the United States. A contract was awarded to ITT within 5 ms [62], use GPS for timing.
Corporation in August 2007 to deploy an ADS-B ground
infrastructure throughout the United States, and ADS-B
services are anticipated to be available in all areas with VI . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
current secondary radar coverage by 2013. The FAA has The GNSS presently consists of a fully populated GPS con-
recently proposed mandating ADS-B Out equipage for all stellation, a partially populated GLONASS constellation,

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1915
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

two operational SBASs (WAAS in the United States, and including the opportunity to decommission portions of the
MSAS in Japan), a small number of operational GBASs, and costly ground-based navigation aid infrastructure and the
a large amount of installed user equipment. The majority of enabling of many new procedures to allow for more
currently installed user equipment only utilize the GPS L1 efficient use of the airspace.
C/A code signals and, to a lesser extent, SBAS L1 signals, in Challenges for the future include decisions on capabil-
conjunction with RAIM and other onboard sensors to meet ities to include within avionics to maximize user benefits
integrity requirements for navigation. (e.g., if a multitude of satellite navigation systems are
Within the next decade, it is anticipated that modern- deployed, which GNSS signals should be processed?) and
ized GPS signals will be broadcast, the GLONASS con- the selection of evolution paths for the GNSS components.
stellation will become fully populated, and additional Some aspects of the latter topic are addressed in [55]. h
satellite navigation systems including the European
Galileo, Chinese Compass, Japanese QZSS, and Indian
IRNSS will become operational. These additional ranging Acknowledgment
sources will greatly increase the accuracy, continuity, The authors would like to thank the following
availability, and robustness of GNSS. Additionally, in the individuals for helpful inputs to this paper: G. McGraw
forthcoming years, additional SBASs (e.g., EGNOS and and J. Wichgers of Rockwell-Collins; T. Murphy of Boeing;
GAGAN) are expected to be commissioned and a greatly D. Benson, R. Braff, J. P. Fernow, V. Massimini, K. Markin,
increased number of GBAS ground facilities deployed. J. Nickum, and R. Strain of The MITRE Corporation;
These emerging GNSS capabilities will offer tremen- and G. Thompson, D. Burkholder, and K. Alexander of
dous benefits to the civil aviation community worldwide, the Federal Aviation Administration.

REFERENCES [13] U.S. Air Force, GPS Wing, Los Angeles Air Navig. Satellite Syst. (ICG), Bangalore, India,
Force Base, Navstar GPS Space Segment/User Sep. 4–7, 2007.
[1] ICAO, Annex 10 to the Convention of Navig. User Interfaces, El Segundo, CA,
International Civil Aviation, Montreal, PQ, [25] Coordination Scientific Information Center,
IS-GPS-200D, Mar. 2006. Russian Federation Ministry of Defence,
Canada, Jul. 17, 2007, vol. I, Radio Navigation
Aids, Amendment 82. [14] R. Gold, BOptimal binary sequences for Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASS
spread spectrum multiplexing,[ IEEE interface control document ver. 5.0, Moscow,
[2] B. Parkinson and S. Gilbert, BNAVSTAR: Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. 13, pp. 619–621, Russia, 2002.
Global positioning systemVTen years later,[ Oct. 1967.
Proc. IEEE, Oct. 1983. [26] J. G. Walker, BSatellite constellations,[ J. Br.
[15] B. Barker, J. Betz, J. Clark, J. Correia, J. Gillis, Interplanet. Soc., vol. 37, pp. 559–572, 1984.
[3] B. Parkinson and J. J. Spilker, Jr., Eds., S. Lazar, K. Rehborn, and J. Straton,
Global Positioning System: Theory and [27] R. Zandbergen, S. Dinwiddy, J. Hahn,
BOverview of the GPS M code signal,[ in Proc. E. Breeuwer, and D. Blonski, BGalileo orbit
Applications. Washington, D.C.: AIAA, Inst. Navig. Nat. Tech. Meeting, Anaheim, CA,
1996, vol. I. selection,[ in Proc. Inst. Navig. ION GNSS
Jan. 2000. 2004, Long Beach, CA, Sep. 2004.
[4] E. Kaplan and C. Hegarty, Eds., [16] R. D. Fontana, W. Cheung, and T. Stansell,
Understanding GPS: Principles and [28] G. Hein, J. Avila-Rodriguez, S. Wallner,
BThe new L2 civil signal,[ GPS World, J. Betz, C. Hegarty, J. Rushanan, A. Kraay,
Applications, 2nd ed. Norwood, MA: Sep. 2001.
Artech House, 2006. A. Pratt, S. Lenahan, J. Owen, J.-L. Issler, and
[17] J. W. Betz, BBinary offset carrier modulations T. Stansell, BMBOC: The new optimized
[5] P. Misra and P. Enge, Global Positioning for radionavigation,[ Navigation: J. Inst. spreading modulation recommended for
System: Signals, Measurements, and Navig., vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 227–246, Winter, Galileo L1 OS and GPS L1C,[ Inside GNSS,
Performance, 2nd ed. Lincoln, MA: 2001–2002. May/Jun. 2006.
Ganga-Jamuna, 2006.
[18] S. C. Fisher and K. Ghassemi, BGPS IIFVThe [29] European Space Agency/European GNSS
[6] U.S. Dept. of Defense, Assistant Secretary next generation,[ Proc. IEEE, vol. 87, Supervisory Authority, Galileo Open Service
of Defense for Command, Control, pp. 24–47, Jan. 1999. Signal in Space Interface control document
Communications, and Intelligence, Global (OS SIS ICD), Feb. 2008.
Positioning System Standard Positioning [19] A. J. Van Dierendonck and C. Hegarty,
Service Performance Standard, BThe new L5 civil GPS signal,[ GPS World, [30] BOverview of compass/BeiDou navigation
Washington, D.C., Oct. 2001. Jun. 2000. satellite system,[ in Proc. 2nd Meeting United
[20] U.S. Air Force, GPS Wing, Los Angeles Air Nations Int. Committee Global Navig. Satellite
[7] G. B. Green, P. D. Massatt, and N. W. Rhodus, Syst. (ICG), Bangalore, India, Sep. 4–7, 2007.
BThe GPS 21 primary satellite constellation,[ Force Base, Navstar GPS Space Segment/User
Navigation: J. Inst. Navig., vol. 36, no. 1, Navigation User Segment L5 interfaces, [31] T. Grelier, J. Dantepal, A. Delatour, A. Ghion,
pp. 9–24, Spring, 1989. El Segundo, CA, IS-GPS-705, Jan. 31, 2005. and L. Ries, BInitial observations and analysis
[21] C. Hegarty, A. J. Van Dierendonck, D. Bobyn, of compass MEO satellite signal,[ Inside
[8] D. R. Hinson, Letter to Dr. A. Kotaite, Federal GNSS, pp. 39–43, May/Jun. 2007.
Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C., M. Tran, T. Kim, and J. Grabowski,
Oct. 14, 1994. BSuppression of pulsed interference through [32] G. X. Gao, A. Chen, S. Lo, D. de Lorenzo, and
blanking,[ in Proc. Inst. Navig. Annu. Meeting, P. Enge, BGNSS over China: The compass
[9] M. C. Blakey, Letter to Dr. R. Kobeh, Federal San Diego, CA, Jun. 2000. MEO satellite codes,[ Inside GNSS,
Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C., pp. 36–43, Jul./Aug. 2007.
Sep. 10, 2007. [22] J. Betz, M. Blanco, C. Cahn, P. Dafesh,
C. Hegarty, K. Hudnut, V. Kasemsri, [33] W. De Wilde, F. Boon, J.-M. Sleewaegen, and
[10] W. J. Clinton, Statement by the President R. Keegan, K. Kovach, L. Lenahan, H. Ma, F. Wilms, BMore compass points: Tracking
Regarding the United States’ Decision to Stop J. Rushanan, D. Sklar, T. Stansell, C. Wang, China’s MEO satellite on a hardware
Degrading Global Positioning System Accuracy, and S. Yi, BDescription of the L1C signal,[ in receiver,[ Inside GNSS, pp. 44–48,
White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Proc. Inst. Navig. ION GNSS 2006, Fort Worth, Jul./Aug. 2007.
Washington, D.C., May 1, 2000. TX, Sep. 2007. [34] M. Kishimoto, H. Hase, A. Matsumoto,
[11] D. Perino, Statement by the Press Secretary, [23] U.S. Air Force, GPS Wing, Los Angeles Air T. Tsuruta, S. Kogure, N. Inaba, M. Sawabe,
White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Force Base, Navstar GPS Space Segment/User T. Kawanishi, S. Yoshitomi, and K. Terada,
Washington, D.C., Sep. 18, 2007. Navigation User Segment L1C interfaces, BQZSS system design and its performance,[
[12] Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard El Segundo, CA, IS-GPS-800, Jan. 8, 2007. in Proc. Inst. Navig. Nat. Tech. Meeting,
Positioning Service (SPS) performance [24] S. G. Revnivykh, BGLONASS status, San Diego, CA, Jan. 2007.
analysis report, Federal Aviation development, and application,[ in Proc. 2nd [35] Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Quasi
Administration, William J. Hughes Technical Meeting United Nations Int. Committee Global Zenith Satellite System Navigation Service:
Center, Atlantic City, NJ, Rep. 60, Jan. 2008.

1916 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Hegarty and Chatre: Evolution of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Interface specification for QZSS (IS-QZSS), [46] A. S. Ganeshan, BGAGAN,[ in Proc. 2nd Proc. IEEE, vol. 77, pp. 1695–1708,
Jun. 8, 2007. Meeting United Nations Int. Committee Global Nov. 1989.
[36] K. N. Suryanarayana Rao, BIndian Regional Navig. Satellite Syst. (ICG), Bangalore, India, [58] RTCA, Minimum operational performance
Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS),[ in Sep. 4–7, 2007. standards for airborne automatic dependent
Proc. 2nd Meeting United Nations Int. [47] T. Murphy and T. Imrich, BImplementation surveillance (ADS) equipment, Washington,
Committee Global Navig. Satellite Syst. and operational use of ground-based D.C., RTCA DO-212, Oct. 26, 1992.
(ICG), Bangalore, India, Sep. 4–7, 2007. augmentation systems (GBASs)VA [59] Airlines Electronic Engineering
[37] K. T. Woo, BOptimum semicodeless component of the future air traffic Committee, Automatic dependent
processing of GPS L2,[ Navigation: J. Inst. management system,[ Proc. IEEE, vol. 96, surveillance (ADS), Annapolis, MD,
Navig., vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 82–99, Summer, no. 12, pp. 1936–1957, Dec. 2008. ARINC Characteristic 745-2, Jun. 1993.
2000. [48] G. Crosby, W. Ely, K. McPherson, J. Stewart, [60] Automatic dependent
[38] T. Walter and M. B. El-Arini, Eds., Global D. Kraus, T. Cashin, K. Bean, and B. Elrod, surveillanceVBroadcast (ADS-B) out
Positioning System: Papers Published in BA ground-based regional augmentation performance requirements to support air
Navigation. Fairfax, VA: Institute of system (GRAS)VThe Australian proposal,[ in traffic control (ATC) service14 CFR Part 91,
Navigation, 1999, vol. VI. Proc. Inst. Navig. ION GPS 2000, Salt Lake Docket FAA-2007-29305, Notice 07-15,
City, UT, Sep. 2000. Federal Aviation Administration, Washington,
[39] P. Enge, T. Walter, S. Pullen, C. Kee, Y. Chao,
and Y. Tsai, BWide area augmentation of [49] Global Positioning System: Papers Published D.C., Oct. 2007.
the global positioning system,[ Proc. IEEE, in Navigation, vol. V, RAIM. Fairfax, VA: [61] RTCA, Minimum operational performance
vol. 84, pp. 1063–1088, Aug. 1996. Institute of Navigation, 1998. standards for 1090 MHz extended squitter
[40] T. Walter and P. Enge, EGNOS: The European [50] T. Murphy, M. Harris, and M. Braasch, automatic dependent surveillanceVBroadcast
Geostationary Overlay System, Noordwijk, BAvailability of GPS/INS integration (ADS-B) and traffic information
The Netherlands, ESA pub. SP-1303, methods,[ in Proc. Inst. Navig. ION servicesVBroadcast (TIS-B), Washington,
Dec. 2006. GPS 2001, Salt Lake City, UT, Sep. 2001. D.C., RTCA DO-260A, Apr. 10, 2003.
[41] D. Lawrence, D. Bunce, N. Mathur, and [51] C. Adams, BMultimode receivers: More [62] RTCA, Minimum operational performance
C. E. Sigler, BWide Area Augmentation demand, more capability,[ Avionics, standards for the universal access
System (WAAS)VProgram status,[ in Proc. Apr. 2002. transceiver (UAT) automatic dependent
Inst. Navig. ION GNSS 2007, Fort Worth, TX, [52] ARINC, Multi-mode receiver surveillanceVBroadcast (ADS-B),
Sep. 2007. (MMR)VDigital, Annapolis, MD, Washington, D.C., Change 1, RTCA
ARINC Characteristic 755-3, Feb. 2005. DO-282A, Dec. 13, 2006.
[42] ESA, EGNOS: The European Geostationary
Overlay System, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, [53] ARINC, GNSS navigation and landing [63] B. J. Barimo and S. Brown, Optimizing
ESA pub. SP-1303, Dec. 2006. unit (GNLU), Annapolis, MD, ARINC the Benefits of Automatic Dependent
Characteristic 756-3, Feb. 2004. SurveillanceVBroadcast: Report From the ADS-B
[43] H. Manabe, MSAS Programme Overview,
Aviation Rulemaking Committee, Washington,
Noordwijk, The Netherlands, ESA pub. [54] ARINC, Global Navigation Satellite System
D.C., Oct. 3, 2007.
SP-1303, Dec. 2006. (GNSS) sensor, Annapolis, MD, ARINC
Characteristic 743A-4, Dec. 2001. [64] B. C. Breen, BControlled flight into terrain
[44] RTCA, Minimum operational performance
and the enhanced ground proximity warning
standards for Global Positioning System/ [55] T. Walter, P. Enge, J. Blanch, and B. Pervan,
system,[ in Proc. 16th AIAA/IEEE Digital
Wide Area Augmentation System airborne BThe GPS Evolutionary Architecture Study
Avionics Syst. Conf., Irvine, CA, Oct. 1997,
equipment, Washington, D.C., RTCA (GEAS),[ Proc. IEEE, vol. 96, no. 12,
pp. 3.1-1–3.1-7.
DO-229D, Dec. 13, 2006. pp. 1918–1935, Dec. 2008.
[65] ICAO, Annex 6 to the Convention of
[45] A. J. Van Dierendonck, C. Hegarty, and [56] Manual on Required Navigation Performance,
International Civil Aviation, Part I,
R. Niles, BNext generation satellite based 2nd ed., ICAO, 1999, Doc. 9613 AN/937.
Montreal, PQ, Canada, Nov. 24, 2005
augmentation system signal specification,[ in [57] P. L. Massoglia, M. T. Pozesky, and vol. I, International Commercial Air
Proc. Inst. Navig. Nat. Tech. Meeting, G. T. Germana, BThe use of satellite TransportVAeroplanes, 8th ed.,
San Diego, CA, Jan. 2005. technology for oceanic air traffic control,[ Amendment 29.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Christopher J. Hegarty (Senior Member, IEEE) is Eric Chatre graduated as an Electronics Engi-
a Director with The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, neer from Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile,
MA where he works primarily on aviation applica- Toulouse, France, in 1992.
tions of GPS. He is currently President of The From 1994 to 2001, he was with the Air
Institute of Navigation and Chair of RTCA, Inc.’s Navigation Service Provider, Toulouse, working
Program Management Committee. He coedited/ on implementation of satellite navigation in civil
coauthored Understanding GPS: Principles and aviation. He has since then been working for the
Applications, 2nd ed. (Norwood, MA: Artech EGNOS and Galileo programmes and is now part of
House, 2006). the GNSS Supervisory Authority in charge of
Dr. Hegarty received the 2005 ION Kepler Mission Definition and Certification aspects.
Award and the 2006 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Hobart Newell
Award.

Vol. 96, No. 12, December 2008 | Proceedings of the IEEE 1917
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitaetsbibliothek der RWTH Aachen. Downloaded on March 07,2023 at 15:44:38 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.