Frequency of Arrival-based Interference Localization Using a Single Satellite

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel method for localizing unknown interference sources in satellite communications using frequency of arrival measurements from a single moving satellite, leveraging Doppler shifts and calibration techniques.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new FoA-based localization approach that uses a single satellite's measurements, satellite motion, and calibration to accurately locate interference sources.

Findings

Localization accuracy improved by up to 80% with more equations.

Increasing satellite velocity enhances localization precision by 95%.

The method effectively compensates for satellite and oscillator mismatches.

Abstract

Intentional and unintentional interferences are an increasing threat for the satellite communications industry. In this paper, we aim to localize an interference with unknown location using frequency of arrival (FoA) technique by only relying on the measurements obtained through a single satellite. In each time instance, the satellite samples the interference and forwards it to the gateway to estimate its frequency. Since the satellite moves, each estimated frequency includes a Doppler shift, which is related to the location of the unknown interferer. The satellite's position, velocity, oscillator frequency, and the interference frequency are used at the gateway to build a location-related equation between the estimated frequency and the location of the unknown interference. Simultaneously with the interference signal, the satellite samples a reference signal to calibrate the estimated frequency and compensate for the mismatches between the available and real values of the satellite's position, velocity, and oscillator frequency. Multiple location-related equations obtained based on the FoA measurements, (at least two), along with the equation of the earth surface are used to localize the unknown interference. Simulations show that increasing the number of these equations, and the satellite velocity can improve the localization accuracy by 80% and 95%, respectively.