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September 28, 2021 07:00 am

SpaceX Satellite Signals Used Like GPS To Pinpoint Location On Earth

schwit1 shares a report from GPS Daily: Engineering researchers have developed a method to use signals broadcast by Starlink internet service satellites to accurately locate a position here on Earth, much like GPS does. It is the first time the Starlink system has been harnessed by researchers outside SpaceX for navigation. The researchers used signals from six Starlink satellites to pinpoint a location on Earth within 8 meters of accuracy. The researchers did not need assistance from SpaceX to use the satellite signals, and they emphasized that they had no access to the actual data being sent through the satellites -- only to information related to the satellite's location and movement. For this research, [Zak Kassas, director of the Center for Automated Vehicles Research with Multimodal Assured Navigation (CARMEN), a multi-institution transportation center housed at The Ohio State University] and his research team studied the Starlink system and analyzed signals being sent by the satellites. They developed an algorithm that could use the signals of multiple satellites to locate a position on Earth. Then, they set up an antenna on the campus of UCI and tried to use the network to pinpoint the antenna's location. Using Starlink, they identified the antenna's location within about 7.7 meters. GPS, by comparison, generally identifies a device's location within 0.3 and 5 meters. The team has used similar techniques with other low Earth orbit satellite constellations, but with less accuracy, pinpointing locations within about 23 meters, Kassas said. The team has also been working with the U.S. Air Force to pinpoint locations of high-altitude aircraft; they were able to come within 5 meters using land-based cellular signals, Kassas said. The research paper has been published in the journal IEEE Xplore.

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