Sensitivity analysis of dual-satellite geolocation

An analytic solution is presented for the linearized estimation problem arising from the dual-satellite geolocation of the source of a narrowband signal using time- and frequency-difference-of-arrival (TDOA and FDOA, respectively) observations and an altitude constraint. This solution is used to analyze the covariance matrix of the resultant source location estimate, along with the sensitivity of its mean to errors in the presumed source altitude and velocity, and the measured or predicted positions and velocities of the satellites. Following the practice of differential Global Positioning System (GPS), the technique of differential calibration (DC) is used to reduce or eliminate various sources of solution bias which would otherwise require tight, and consequently expensive, individual, calibration.