Efficient precise orbit determination of LEO satellites using GPS Original Research Article

Efficient precise orbit determination of LEO satellites plays an important role for near real-time studies of GPS satellite occultations for meteorological purposes. Precise point positioning for each epoch is one approach to achieve this goal. Using IGS orbits and precise clocks for the GPS satellites the positions are generated by the combination of code derived positions and phase derived position differences. Fitting an orbit based on a physical model to the positions promises to complement a procedure that meets the requirements regarding precision and processing speed. This efficient procedure is tested with data of TOPEX/POSEIDON.