Impact of Satellite Clock Corrections and Different Precise Products on GPS and Galileo Precise Point Positioning Performance

Read full text
Authors: Damian Kiliszek, Karol Korolczuk
Cited by: 1
References: 38

Abstract

This study assesses how satellite clock products affect Precise Point Positioning (PPP) for GPS, Galileo, and GPS+Galileo. Multi-GNSS data at 30 s were processed for 12 global IGS stations over one week in 2025, with each day split into eight independent three-hour sessions. SP3 clocks (ORB, 5 min) were compared with dedicated CLKs (CLO, 5 s, 30 s, 5 min) across final (FIN), rapid (RAP), and ultra-rapid (ULT; observed/predicted) product lines from multiple analysis centers. Two timing strategies were tested: nearest-epoch sampling (CLOCK0) and linear interpolation (CLOCK1). CLO consistently delivered the lowest 2D/3D errors and the fastest convergence. ORB degraded accuracy by a few millimeters and extended convergence by ~5-10 min, most notably for GPS. With 5 min clocks, CLOCK1 yielded small gains for Galileo but often hurt GPS; with 30 s clocks, interpolation was immaterial; 5 s clocks offered no measurable benefit. FIN outperformed RAP; OPS slightly outperformed MGEX; ESA/GFZ ranked highest. ULT solutions were weaker, especially in the predicted half. Zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) biases were negligible; variance was smallest for GPS+Galileo with CLO (~7-10 mm), increased by ~1-2 mm with ORB, and was largest in ULT. Dense, high-quality clock products remain essential for reliable PPP.

Fields of Study & Subjects

GNSS positioning and interference Advanced Frequency and Time Standards Geophysics and Gravity Measurements

Publication details

Journal / source
Sensors
Publisher
MDPI AG
Volume
26
Issue
2
Pages
588–588
Publication date
15 January 2026
Language
EN