Ka/C dual frequency ranging system for ocean altimetry satellite and analysis of ionospheric error

Abstract In view of the future development trend of ocean altimetry satellites, the design idea of Ka/C dual frequency combination system is proposed, that is, the mode of using an altimeter antenna to contain Ka and C frequencies (35.7 and 5.3 GHz, respectively) for combined ranging. First, the random error model of altimeter measuring the distance from the altimeter phase center to the sea surface is given, and the analysis shows that the ionospheric correction error is one of the important factors. Second, the calculation of typical ionospheric parameters shows that the influence of ionospheric higher order terms on altimeter ranging is below the mm level, and its influence can be ignored. The rigorous expression for the first-order and second-order term correction of ionosphere error are given, respectively, by using dual frequency and three frequencies. The computational experiment of Jason-2 and SARAL satellite show that the maximum magnitude of ionospheric error correction in Ku band can reach 11 cm, while the maximum magnitude of ionospheric error correction in Ka band can reach 2 cm. For high-precision applications, ionospheric corrections must be made for single Ka frequency. After Ka/C dual frequency combination is adopted, error correction can be directly conducted without global ionospheric map (GIM) model, and its accuracy will be further improved than GIM model. Under 1 Hz sampling conditions, the ionospheric correction accuracy of Ka/C combination can be better than 2.5 mm, basically eliminating the influence of the ionosphere, and the total ranging accuracy can reach 3.5 cm considering the propagation error.