COMPASS Augmentation Using LEO Telecommunication Satellites

At present, the Chinese COMPASS navigation satellite system is under investigation and construction. The construction of COMPASS follows a step-by-step pattern based on technical and economic evolution in China, and the current design is to cover Asia-Pacific area around 2012, and all over the world before 2020. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems provide wide coverage for their data and/or voice services. The additional COMPASS compatible signals from LEO telecommunication satellites can remarkably improve the availability and accuracy of COMPASS positioning. This paper focuses on the performance of COMPASS augmentation using a proposed LEO satellite system. The COMPASS satellite system is briefly reviewed. Positioning with pseudo-range is analyzed. The performance of COMPASS augmentation using LEO satellite system in China and its neighboring area is studied with software simulation. The results of simulation are presented using the number of visible satellites as a measure of availability, Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) as a measure of accuracy with spatial and temporal variations. The results show that the LEO satellite system improves the availability and accuracy of COMPASS positioning in China and its neighboring area.