Time synchronization between satellites via inter-satellite link observations of BDS-3 Constellation: Method, experiment and analysis

Time synchronization through inter-satellite link (ISL) observations is crucial for enabling autonomous navigation in global navigation satellite systems. This study investigates the time synchronization performance within China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) using ISL measurements from 29 BDS-3 constellation satellites. A dedicated two-way time synchronization method is detailed, emphasizing its uniqueness and precision in ensuring accurate time synchronization. The study also delves into the application of various error corrections, encompassing time delay induced by motion, relativistic effects, and hardware delays. Ranging results show accuracies around 7 cm for one-way ISLs. The impact of error corrections is quantified, with the time delay error caused by motion exhibiting the most significant influence on synchronization accuracy. Using one month of BDS-3 ISL data, time synchronization accuracies better than 0.4 ns are consistently achieved between all satellites after implementing comprehensive error mitigation. The results indicate the robust performance of the BDS-3 ISL system for high-precision timekeeping, supporting autonomous orbit determination and navigation without relying on ground monitoring. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of using ISLs for GNSS satellites and provide valuable insights for advancing satellite navigation capabilities.