OFDM-Based Precise Ranging Technique in Space Applications

A novel ranging technique based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is proposed for the ranging systems in space by using the properties of OFDM in time and frequency domains. The coarse estimation of the time delay is obtained by the correlation of the waveforms of OFDM signals in the time domain, and the fine estimation of the time delay is obtained by the phase differences between the subcarriers in the frequency domain by the proposed method. The simulation results show that the performance of the proposed technique is better than that of the pseudonoise ranging method and that of the phase ranging method.