GLONASS

Q-1. What is GLONASS? Describe the principle on which the GLONASS works.

Answer: GLONASS or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system
operated by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces. It both complements and provides an alternative to
the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS) and is the only alternative navigational system in
operation with global coverage and comparable precision.

The GLONASS system design consists of three parts:

1. The Control segment

2. The Space segment
3. The User segment

All these parts operate together to provide accurate three-dimensional positioning, timing and velocity data
to users worldwide.

The Control Segment:

The ground control segment of GLONASS is entirely located within former Soviet Union territory. The
Ground Control Center and Time Standards is located in Moscow and the telemetry and tracking stations
are in St. Petersburg, Ternopol, Eniseisk and Komsomolsk-na-Amure. The GLONASS control segment,
similar to GPS, must monitor the status of satellites, determine the ephemerides and satellite clock offsets
with respect to GLONASS time and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), and twice a day upload the
navigation data to the satellites.

The Space Segment:

The Space Segment is the portion of the GLONASS system that is located in space, that is, the GLONASS
satellites that provide GLONASS ranging information. The operational space segment of GLONASS
consists of 21 satellites in 3 orbital planes, with 3 on-orbit spares. The three orbital planes are separated
120 degrees, and the satellites within the same orbit plane by 45 degrees. The satellites are placed into
nominally circular orbits at an orbital height of about 19,140 km, which is about 1,050 km lower than GPS
satellites and at an inclination angle of 64.8 degrees. Each satellite completes an orbit in approximately 11
hours 15 minutes. Because each orbital plane contains eight equally spaced satellites, one of the satellites
will be at the same spot in the sky at the same sidereal time each day.

The User Segment:

The User Segment consists of equipment (such as a NovAtel OEMV family receiver) that tracks and
receives the satellite signals. This equipment must be capable of simultaneously processing the signals
from a minimum of four satellites to obtain accurate position, velocity and timing measurements. Like GPS,
GLONASS is a dual military/civilian-use system. The system’s potential civil applications are many and
mirror those of GPS.

Working Principle: GLONASS positioning principle is Intersection. Main operating concept of the system is
to determine location through measuring and comparing the distance between the object and points of
known coordinates - satellites. The satellite broadcasts a signal that contains orbital data (from which the
position of the satellite can be calculated) and the precise time the signal was transmitted. The orbital data
is transmitted in a data message that is superimposed on a code that serves as a timing reference. The
satellite uses an atomic clock to maintain synchronization of all the satellites in the constellation. The
receiver compares the time of broadcast encoded in the transmission with the time of reception measured
by an internal clock, thereby measuring the time-of-flight to the satellite. Several such measurements can
be made at the same time to different satellites, allowing a continual fix to be generated in real time using
an adapted version of trilateration. Each distance measurement places the receiver on a spherical shell at
the measured distance from the broadcaster. By taking several such measurements and then looking for a
point where they meet, a fix is generated.
However, in the case of fast-moving receivers, the position of the signal moves as signals are received from
several satellites. In addition, the radio signals slow slightly as they pass through the ionosphere, and this
slowing varies with the receiver's angle to the satellite, because that changes the distance through the
ionosphere. The basic computation thus attempts to find the shortest directed line tangent to four oblate
spherical shells centered on four satellites. Satellite navigation receivers reduce errors by using
combinations of signals from multiple satellites and multiple correlators, and then using filtering  techniques
to combine the noisy, partial, and constantly changing data into a single estimate for position, time, and
velocity. 

Q-2. Explains the different satellite constellation configurations under GLONASS and GPS respectively

Answer:

Q-3. Describe the advantage of the receiver capable of operating both GLONASS and GPS "combined
GPS/GLONASS receiver equipment".

Answer: With the availability of combined GPS/Glonass receivers, users have access to a 48+ satellite
combined system. With these satellites, performance in urban canyons and other locations with restricted
visibility, such as forested areas improves as more satellites are visible in the non blocked portions of the
sky. The significant advantages in a short are as follows:

a) Increased satellite signal observation.

b) Markedly increased spatial distribution of visible satellites.

 c) Reduced Horizontal and Vertical Dilution of Precision (DOP) factors.

d) Decreased occupation times means faster RTK (Real Time Kinematic) results.

Q-4. Describe the limitations of GLONASS system receiver.

Answer: GLONASS is a fully operational (Since 2008) well maintained (by Russia) and all-weather Satellite
Navigation System with world-wide coverage and high precision like GPS System. Glonass Receiver does
not have any limitations of any known kind.