New Mathematical Models of GPS Intersatellite Communications in the Gravitational Field of the Near-Earth Space

TL;DR

This paper develops a new theoretical model for GPS intersatellite communication in Earth's gravitational field, using null cones in General Relativity to accurately describe signal distances without relying on traditional delay formulas.

Contribution

It introduces a novel null cone intersection approach to model intersatellite signals in curved spacetime, providing new insights into geodesic distances in GRT-based satellite communication.

Findings

Geodesic distance exceeds Euclidean distance.

Space-time interval can be positive, negative, or zero.

Model does not use Shapiro delay formulae.

Abstract

Several space missions such as GRACE, GRAIL, ACES and others rely on intersatellite communications (ISC) between two satellites at a large distance one from another. The main goal of the theory is to formulate all the navigation observables within the General Relativity Theory (GRT). The same approach should be applied also to the intersatellite GPS-communications (in perspective also between the GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellite constellations). In this paper a theoretical approach has been developed for ISC between two satellites moving on (one-plane) elliptical orbits based on the introduction of two gravity null cones with origins at the emitting-signal and receiving-signal satellites. The two null cones account for the variable distance between the satellites during their uncorrelated motion. This intersection of the two null cones gives the space-time interval in GRT. Applying some theorems from higher algebra, it was proved that this space-time distance can become zero, consequently it can be also negative and positive. But in order to represent the geodesic distance travelled by the signal, the space-time interval has to be "compatible" with the Euclidean distance. So this "compatibility condition", conditionally called "condition for ISC", is the most important consequence of the theory. The other important consequence is that the geodesic distance turns out to be the space-time interval, but with account also of the "condition for ISC". The geodesic distance is proved to be greater than the Euclidean distance - a result, entirely based on the "two null cones approach" and moreover, without any use of the Shapiro delay formulae. Application of the same higher algebra theorems shows that the geodesic distance cannot have any zeroes, in accord with being greater than the Euclidean distance.