Evaluation of BeiDou time transfer over multiple inter-continental baselines towards UTC contribution. (8th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liang, Kun; Arias, Felicitas; Petit, Gerard; Jiang, Zhiheng; Tisserand, Laurent; Wang, Ye; Yang, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Aimin
• Is Part Of: Metrologia. Volume 55:Number 4(2018:Aug.)
• Page Start: 513
• Page End: 525
• Publication Date: 2018-06-08
• Subjects: time transfer -- BeiDou -- GNSS -- time and frequency -- metrology; Weights and measures -- Periodicals; Weights and Measures -- Periodicals; 530.805
• DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/aac586
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0026-1394

Abstract

Abstract: A road map for the implementation of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) time transfer in coordinated universal time (UTC) has been drawn up, including a pilot experiment to evaluate BDS time transfer on multiple baselines. In the pilot experiment, several laboratories contributing to UTC have been equipped or are planned to be equipped with BDS time and frequency transfer receivers made by the National Institute of Metrology (NIM, Beijing). In the first phase, concentrating on the evaluation for the global capacity of BDS time transfer, the experiments have been implemented on multiple inter-continental baselines, involving NIM, Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM, Sevres), other institutes in China and the Czech Republic, and stations from the International Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Service (IGS) network. The satellite signal coverages at various sites were characterized for satellite number, satellite elevation and satellite azimuth. Stability and accuracy of time transfer by BDS have been evaluated, based on common clock difference and multiple inter-continental baselines experiments, concluding agreement between BDS time transfer and GPS time transfer and a time stability of less than 1 ns at some thousand seconds averaging time at the present satellite coverage of BDS.