gnssconstellation

Satellite locations at specified time

Since R2021a

Syntax

[satPos,satVel] = gnssconstellation(t)

[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,navData)

[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,navData,GNSSFileType=gnssFileType)

Description

[satPos,satVel] = gnssconstellation(t) returns the satellite positions and velocities at the datetime t. The function returns positions and velocities in the Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system in meters and meters per second, respectively. If the time zone for the datetime is not specified, it is assumed to be UTC.

[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,navData) returns the satellite positions, velocities, and IDs at time t in the specified RINEX navigation message data navData.

[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,navData,GNSSFileType=gnssFileType) additionally specifies the GNSS file type from which you obtained the navigation message data. This syntax enables you to process navigation data obtained from either a RINEX file, a SEM almanac file, or a YUMA almanac file.

Note

The gnssconstellation function determines the satellite position and satellite velocities by propagating the current orbital parameters specified by the RINEX file, SEM almanac file, or YUMA almanac file to the query time. To get more accurate satellite positions and velocities, ensure you are using the navigation file released for the time that you are querying at.

Examples

Get Current Satellite Positions and Velocities

Get the current satellite positions and velocities from the GNSS satellites. Access the orbital parameters from IS-GPS-200M Interface Specification and calculate the position and velocities in ECEF coordinates for the given time. Display the satellite positions.

t = datetime('now','TimeZone','Local');
[satPos,satVel] = gnssconstellation(t);
disp(satPos)

   1.0e+07 *

   -1.7781    1.9648    0.1795
    1.4920    0.5349   -2.1312
   -0.5882   -1.5623    2.0658
    0.4805   -2.1767    1.4441
    2.5175    0.7264   -0.4346
    2.5782   -0.0244    0.6374
   -0.2469    1.5033   -2.1756
   -1.6196   -1.3906    1.5803
   -1.5627    1.0645   -1.8652
    0.1402    2.4409   -1.0376
    1.6480    0.2771    2.0644
    1.1640   -1.1101    2.1135
   -1.3969   -2.1090   -0.8093
   -1.9675    0.5071   -1.7105
    1.9807   -1.6170    0.7185
    1.5681   -2.1338   -0.2054
   -0.2457    2.0881    1.6228
   -1.3476   -0.7464   -2.1636
    1.2797   -1.2021   -1.9929
    1.8726    1.2870    1.3752
   -2.5755    0.0323    0.6479
    0.6486    1.5615    2.0482
    1.4409    2.0405   -0.9025
   -1.5302    0.2255    2.1591
   -1.0358    1.3300    2.0524
   -0.3366   -2.5075   -0.8084
    0.5479   -1.9541   -1.7133

Get Satellite Look Angles for Receiver Position

Use the lookangles function to get the azimuth and elevation angles of satellites for given satellite and receiver positions. Specify a mask angle of 5 degrees. Get the satellite positions using the gnssconstellation function.

Specify a receiver position in geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude).

recPos = [42 -71 50];

Get the satellite positions for the current time.

t = datetime('now');
gpsSatPos = gnssconstellation(t);

Specify a mask angle of 5 degrees.

maskAngle = 5;

Get the azimuth and elevation look angles for the satellite positions. The vis output indicates which satellites are visible. Get the total using nnz.

[az,el,vis] = lookangles(recPos,gpsSatPos,maskAngle);
fprintf('%d satellites visible at %s.\n',nnz(vis),t);

7 satellites visible at 03-Mar-2023 10:18:48.

Retrieve Satellite Positions, Velocities, and IDs from RINEX File

Read one set of GPS satellites from the GPS navigation message in a RINEX file.

filename = "GODS00USA_R_20211750000_01D_GN.rnx"; 
data = rinexread(filename);
gpsData = data.GPS;
[~,satIdx] = unique(gpsData.SatelliteID);
gpsData = gpsData(satIdx,:);

Get the satellite positions, velocities, and IDs at the first time step.

t = gpsData.Time(1);
[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,gpsData)

satPos = 31×3
107 ×

   -1.5630   -0.1882    2.1186
    1.3808    2.1970   -0.4861
   -2.0061    0.7606    1.5492
   -2.5625   -0.0140   -0.7096
    1.4896    0.5448   -2.1487
    0.6129    2.5407    0.4615
   -1.0081    1.3751   -1.9877
   -2.5811   -0.6135   -0.3246
   -1.9289    0.8690   -1.6134
    0.9542   -2.2526    1.0113
      ⋮

satVel = 31×3
103 ×

   -0.8888   -2.5914   -0.8416
    0.0362    0.7543    3.1043
    1.1203   -1.6505    2.2591
   -0.8301   -0.4385    2.9967
   -1.6023    2.1607   -0.5493
   -0.3948   -0.4708    3.1591
   -1.0322   -2.4133   -1.1748
    0.4370   -0.1710   -3.1339
   -1.9860   -0.5032    2.1087
    0.9968   -0.8308   -2.8502
      ⋮

satID = 31×1

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      ⋮

Retrieve Satellite Positions, Velocities, and IDs from SEM Almanac File

Read GPS navigation message data from a SEM almanac file.

data = semread("semalmanac_2022-4-10.al3")

data=31×16 timetable
            Time            GPSWeekNumber    GPSTimeOfApplicability    PRNNumber    SVN    AverageURANumber    Eccentricity    InclinationOffset    RateOfRightAscension    SqrtOfSemiMajorAxis    GeographicLongitudeOfOrbitalPlane    ArgumentOfPerigee    MeanAnomaly    ZerothOrderClockCorrection    FirstOrderClockCorrection    SatelliteHealth    SatelliteConfiguration
    ____________________    _____________    ______________________    _________    ___    ________________    ____________    _________________    ____________________    ___________________    _________________________________    _________________    ___________    __________________________    _________________________    _______________    ______________________

    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              1        63            0                0.01171          0.014391            -2.4484e-09               5153.6                        -0.9271                      0.28359          -0.23387              0.00038624                    -7.276e-12                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              2        61            0               0.020515         0.0074596            -2.5029e-09               5153.6                       -0.95587                     -0.45355          -0.18869             -0.00065327                             0                  0                      9          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              3        69            0              0.0040326         0.0096912            -2.5757e-09               5153.6                       -0.59787                      0.29979          -0.59118             -0.00020409                   -1.4552e-11                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              4        74            0              0.0017715         0.0059814            -2.4665e-09               5153.6                       -0.25353                     -0.95004           0.31619             -0.00017643                     3.638e-12                  0                     12          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              5        50            0              0.0059118         0.0055599            -2.6193e-09               5153.6                       -0.61097                      0.32122           0.61334             -7.8201e-05                             0                  0                     10          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              6        67            0              0.0026565          0.014187             -2.452e-09               5153.7                       -0.92973                     -0.28158           -0.1523              0.00026417                    1.4552e-11                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              7        48            0               0.015865         0.0028152            -2.5138e-09               5153.6                        0.07053                     -0.72524          -0.44853              0.00032043                             0                  0                     10          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              8        72            0              0.0074387         0.0068531            -2.4738e-09               5153.7                        0.72894                     0.048076             0.467             -6.3896e-05                             0                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05              9        68            0              0.0021076         0.0037479            -2.5029e-09               5153.5                       -0.27053                      0.59743           0.61325             -0.00034428                     3.638e-12                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             10        73            0              0.0075555         0.0096321            -2.5793e-09               5153.6                       -0.59875                     -0.79359          -0.88495              -0.0003767                   -1.0914e-11                  0                     11          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             11        78            0             0.00031376         0.0064716            -2.5393e-09               5153.7                        -0.9136                      0.85276           0.49013             -4.1962e-05                     7.276e-12                 63                     12          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             12        58            0              0.0087256          0.008585            -2.5575e-09               5153.5                        0.42482                      0.40497          -0.64747             -0.00019932                    -7.276e-12                  0                     10          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             13        43            0              0.0058503         0.0083656            -2.4374e-09               5153.6                       -0.22159                      0.29646           0.31699              0.00029278                     7.276e-12                  0                      9          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             14        77            0              0.0016966         0.0033073            -2.6121e-09               5153.6                        0.41456                      0.97049          -0.63662             -0.00010204                    -3.638e-12                  0                     12          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             15        55            0               0.013989         -0.003952            -2.5866e-09               5153.7                       -0.30476                      0.34521           0.16087             -6.9618e-05                     3.638e-12                  0                     10          
    12-Apr-2022 16:50:54        2205               2.3347e+05             16        56            0               0.012782         0.0085545            -2.5611e-09               5153.6                        0.43073                      0.23073           0.76066             -0.00049114                    -3.638e-12                  0                      9          
      ⋮

Get the satellite positions, velocities, and IDs at the first time step.

t = data.Time(1);
[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,data,GNSSFileType="SEM")

satPos = 31×3
107 ×

    1.3899   -2.2151    0.3074
   -1.6755    0.5872   -1.9147
    1.5377   -1.2781   -1.7528
    0.6332   -1.6385   -1.9887
   -2.5716    0.5413    0.4215
   -1.0251   -1.1336   -2.1646
    0.2694   -2.3585    1.1775
    1.3414   -0.7139    2.1761
   -0.3881   -2.2626   -1.3395
    1.5043    1.1879    1.8656
      ⋮

satVel = 31×3
103 ×

    0.0014    0.4854    3.2261
    0.8625   -2.4217   -1.4348
    2.2113    0.0321    1.9394
    1.4081    2.1049   -1.2936
   -0.5761   -0.2150   -3.1036
    1.2999   -2.4327    0.6643
    0.9229   -1.1620   -2.6758
    1.5581    2.2893   -0.1743
    1.1480    1.2668   -2.4877
   -2.3150    0.2417    1.6982
      ⋮

satID = 31×1

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      ⋮

Retrieve Satellite Positions, Velocities, and IDs from YUMA Almanac File

Read GPS navigation message data from a YUMA almanac file.

data = yumaread("yumaAlmanac_2022-9-27.alm")

data=31×13 timetable
            Time            PRN    Health    Eccentricity    TimeOfApplicability    OrbitalInclination    RateOfRightAscen    SQRTA     RightAscenAtWeek    ArgumentOfPerigee    MeanAnom        Af0           Af1        Week
    ____________________    ___    ______    ____________    ___________________    __________________    ________________    ______    ________________    _________________    ________    ___________    __________    ____

    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     1       0          0.012008          4.055e+05              0.98891            -7.5432e-09       5153.6          0.3651              0.9438           -1.095     0.00027561    -7.276e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     2       0              0.02          4.055e+05              0.96685            -7.7946e-09       5154.9         0.27125              -1.393          -1.6195    -0.00064468             0    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     3       0         0.0044999          4.055e+05              0.97519             -7.726e-09       5153.5          1.3977              1.0651          -2.1966    -0.00035858    -3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     4       0         0.0020423          4.055e+05              0.96187             -7.966e-09       5153.7          2.4795             -3.1045          0.81839    -0.00011158     7.276e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     5       0         0.0060811          4.055e+05              0.96224            -7.8403e-09       5153.7          1.3543              1.1188            1.415    -9.8228e-05             0    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     6       0         0.0024514          4.055e+05              0.98822            -7.5546e-09       5153.5         0.35683             -0.8974         -0.87447     0.00047684    1.0914e-11    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     7       0          0.016406          4.055e+05              0.95104            -7.7832e-09       5153.6         -2.7871             -2.2412          -1.7241     0.00030327    -3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     8       0         0.0075631          4.055e+05              0.96192            -8.2403e-09       5153.5        -0.71955             0.16395           1.1555    -8.6784e-05             0    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06     9       0         0.0025387          4.055e+05              0.95495            -8.0575e-09       5153.7          2.4248              1.9083           1.5732    -0.00028992     3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    10       0         0.0079675          4.055e+05              0.97498            -7.7489e-09       5153.6           1.395             -2.5116          -3.0858     -5.722e-06             0    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    11       0        0.00075054          4.055e+05              0.96415            -7.7832e-09       5153.6         0.40358             -3.1036          0.81271    -2.0981e-05    -3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    12       0         0.0085082          4.055e+05              0.96755             -7.966e-09       5153.7         -1.6731              1.3158          -2.4318     -0.0002861    -7.276e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    13       0         0.0065126          4.055e+05              0.96921            -7.8518e-09       5153.6          2.5812             0.94039          0.67456     0.00039673     7.276e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    14       0          0.002305          4.055e+05              0.95095            -8.1261e-09       5153.6          -1.708             -3.0302          -2.4903    -0.00010014     3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    15       0          0.014625          4.055e+05              0.93093            -8.3203e-09       5153.6          2.3127              1.1401          0.17435    -2.4796e-05     3.638e-12    2229
    29-Sep-2022 16:38:06    16       0          0.012809          4.055e+05              0.96738            -7.9889e-09       5153.7         -1.6547             0.73255           2.0697    -0.00052547             0    2229
      ⋮

Get the satellite positions, velocities, and IDs at the first time step.

t = data.Time(1);
[satPos,satVel,satID] = gnssconstellation(t,data,GNSSFileType="YUMA")

satPos = 31×3
107 ×

   -1.3549    2.2358   -0.3793
    1.4926   -2.1942   -0.1952
   -1.2477    1.2357   -2.0018
   -0.4096    2.0385   -1.6467
    2.2427   -0.7207    1.2218
    1.4711    0.4089   -2.1680
   -0.0841    2.0989    1.6373
   -1.0615    1.1949    2.1111
    0.5989    2.4816   -0.7333
   -1.9686   -1.1518    1.4018
      ⋮

satVel = 31×3
103 ×

   -0.4388    0.2295    3.2113
    0.0460    0.4065   -3.1646
   -2.4900   -0.3576    1.3500
   -0.9647   -1.8691   -2.0833
    1.5583    0.3175   -2.6224
   -1.6003    2.2475   -0.6531
   -1.3741    1.5034   -2.0994
   -1.2344   -2.3991    0.7711
   -0.6518   -0.7124   -2.9785
    1.7466    0.0160    2.4627
      ⋮

satID = 31×1

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      ⋮

Input Arguments

t — Current time for satellite simulation

scalar datetime array

Current time for the satellite simulation, specified as a scalar datetime array.

The default time zone for a datetime array is UTC. For information on specifying a different time zone, see datetime.

GPS start time is January 6, 1980 at 00:00 (UTC). Specifying any datetime prior to this time will use the GPS start time.

Example: datetime('now','TimeZone','Local');

Data Types: datetime

navData — Navigation data

timetable

Navigation data, specified as a timetable. For a RINEX file, you can obtain this timetable from the structure returned by the rinexread function. For a SEM almanac file, you can use the timetable returned by the semread function. For a YUMA almanac file, you can use the timetable returned by the yumaread function.

Read Navigation Data from RINEX File

The gnssconstellation function can process the GPS or Galileo data read from a RINEX file. The contents of the structure returned by the rinexread function vary depending on the type of satellite system described by the RINEX file. For more information on the contents of the structure, see the rinexread function More About section.

To read GPS navigation message data from a RINEX file, extract the GPS field from the returned structure. For example:

rinexData = rinexread("GODS00USA_R_20211750000_01D_GN.rnx");
navData = rinexData.GPS;

To read Galileo navigation message data from a RINEX file, extract the Galileo field from the returned structure. For example:

rinexData = rinexread("GODS00USA_R_20211750000_01D_EN.rnx");
navData = rinexData.Galileo;

Read Navigation Data from SEM Almanac File

The gnssconstellation function can process the GPS data read from a SEM almanac file. The timetable returned by the semread function contains the parameters of each satellite in the almanac file associated with the specified date. For more information on the contents of the timetable, see the data argument of the semread function.

Because semread returns a timetable, you can directly specify navData as the semread output argument. For example:

navData = semread("semalmanac_2022-1-18.al3")

Read Navigation Data from YUMA Almanac File

The gnssconstellation function can process the GPS and QZSS data read from a YUMA almanac file. The timetable returned by the yumaread function contains the parameters of each satellite in the almanac file associated with the specified date. For more information on the contents of the timetable, see the data argument of the yumaread function.

Because yumaread returns a timetable, you can directly specify navData as the yumaread output argument. For example:

navData = yumaread("yumaAlmanac_2022-4-20.alm")

gnssFileType — GNSS file type

"RINEX" | "SEM" | "YUMA"

GNSS file type, specified as "RINEX", "SEM", or "YUMA". Specify the GNSS file type as "RINEX" when specifying the navigation data as a timetable obtained from the structure returned by the rinexread function. Specify the GNSS file type as "SEM" when specifying the navigation data as a timetable returned by the semread function. Specify the GNSS file type as "YUMA" when specifying the navigation data as a timetable returned by the yumaread function.

Example: GNSSFileType="RINEX"

Example: GNSSFileType="SEM"

Example: GNSSFileType="YUMA"

Data Types: char | string

Output Arguments

satPos — Satellite positions

N-by-3 matrix of scalars

Satellite positions in the Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system in meters, returned as an N-by-3 matrix of scalars. N is the number of satellites in the constellation.

Data Types: single | double

satVel — Satellite velocities

N-by-3 matrix of scalar

Satellite velocities in the Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system in meters per second, returned as an N-by-3 matrix of scalars. N is the number of satellites in the constellation.

Data Types: single | double

satID — Satellite identification numbers

N-element column vector

Satellite identification numbers, returned as an N-element column vector. N is the number of satellites in the constellation.

Data Types: single | double

More About

Orbital Parameters

The initial satellite positions and velocities are defined by orbital parameters in Table A.2-2 in GPS SPS Performance Standard, and are given in Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinates. To get accurate position and velocity calculations, ensure that you are using the correct orbital parameters for the corresponding querying time.

Position calculations use equations from Table 30-II in the same IS-GPS-200M Interface Specification.

Velocity calculations use equations 8.21–8.27 in Principles of GNSS, Inertial, and Multisensor Integrated Navigation Systems [1].

References

[1] Groves, Paul D. Principles of GNSS, Inertial, and Multisensor Integrated Navigation Systems. Boston: Artech House, 2013.

[2] International GNSS Service (IGS), Daily 30-Second GPS Broadcast Ephemeris Data, NASA Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS), Greenbelt, MD, USA, Jun. 24, 2021. Accessed Jun. 25, 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GNSS/gnss_daily_n_001.

[3] United States Coast Guard. "GPS Almanacs, NANUs, and OPS Advisories Archives." US Coast Guard Navigation Center. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/archives.

[4] QZSS almanac archives, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System(QZSS). "QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) - Cabinet Office (Japan)" Accessed September 20, 2022. https://sys.qzss.go.jp/dod/en/archives/pnt.html.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation

Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Only MEX functions are supported for code generation.

Version History

Introduced in R2021a