GLONASS modernization: initial characterization of the first K2 spacecraft

The current operational GLONASS constellation comprises three different types of spacecraft: GLONASS-M, GLONASS-M+ and GLONASS-K1. All satellites transmit legacy frequency division multiple access (FDMA) signals in the L1 and L2 frequency bands, where individual satellites make use of different transmit frequencies. For the M+ and K1 satellites, an L3 code division multiple access (CMDA) signal was added. CDMA signals are transmitted at the same frequency but with satellite-specific ranging codes.

K2 is the latest generation of GLONASS adding CDMA signals in the L1 and L2 frequency bands. The first GLONASS-K2 satellite was launched in August 2023 and started signal transmission in early September 2023. Unfortunately, as of early 2024, no commercial GNSS receiver is able to track the L1 and L2 CDMA signals. Thus, measurements of a 30 m high-gain antenna are used for the characterization of these signals.

The FDMA and CDMA signals of GLONASS-K2 are transmitted via dedicated antennas separated by about 1 m. The differential baseline vector between the phase centers of the two antennas is estimated from an ionosphere- and geometry-free linear combination of L1 and L2 FDMA and L3 CDMA signals observed by a global tracking network. Furthermore, the FDMA L1/L2 ionosphere-free phase center offsets (PCOs) w.r.t. the center of mass are estimated. Both types of estimates are compared to PCOs obtained from the FDMA and CDMA navigation message.

The spacecraft body size of GLONASS-K2 is twice as large as the previous K1 generation. Due to the increased size and the more stretched shape of the satellite body, a proper modeling of the solar radiation pressure is of particular importance for precise orbit determination. Based on approximate dimensions of the satellite and default optical properties, an initial box-wing model is constructed. The performance of this model is evaluated by day boundary discontinuities, clock residuals, and the magnitude of estimated empirical orbit parameters. Finally, the latter quantities are used for an empirical tuning of the box-wing model.