GPS positioning algorithm for a spinning vehicle with discontinuous signals received by a single-patch antenna

A GPS positioning algorithm is studied and applied to locate a spinning vehicle on which a single-patch antenna is mounted. Because the antenna is directional and the received signal is periodically discontinuous, the bits and frames cannot be synchronized to assemble the transmission time of the satellite signals. The characteristics of the signals received by a single-patch antenna are described. The means by which the tracking loop works with these discontinuous signals are analyzed and simulated. Aiming at spinning projectiles, the positioning algorithm forming differencing with respect to a reference satellite is applied to locate the spinning vehicle by using code phases obtained in the tracking of the discontinuous signals. Experiments were carried out, and the results showed that the positioning algorithm works properly on the spinning vehicle. The results revealed that the positioning error of the algorithm applied to a spinning vehicle is close to that of the conventional positioning method applied to a non-spinning vehicle.