A Design Approach for a GPS User Segment for Aerospace Vehicles

As new applications for the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) on aerospace vehicles emerge, more attention is being paid to the design of the user segment, which comprises the hardware and software employed by the user to obtain navigation information from GPS. The complexity of the design of the user segment, as well as the performance demanded of the components (such as the antenna), depends on user requirements such as total navigation accuracy. Other factors, for instance the expected satellite/vehicle geometry or the accuracy of an accompanying inertial navigation system, can also affect the user segment design. The interaction between these effects, the user requirements, and the user segment design is studied. Design curves are developed which allow quick trade studies to be performed.