Correction of the distance between phase centres of two directional antenneas of a navigational satellite

摘要

A method and apparatus for estimating a lever arm (i.e. the distance of phase centres), correction between the wide beam antenna (106E) and the spot beam antenna (106S) in a navigational satellite (100) system is disclosed. A prescribed satellite maneuver is used to increase the accuracy of the predicted satellite attitude in determining the lever arm (114), and lever arm corrections are provided to navigation receivers (716) using curve fit coefficients to permit long range estimates and to minimize data transmission requirements.