Aging of ground Global Navigation Satellite System oscillators

Abstract

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are widely used in many areas of human life and activity. The proper functioning of GNSS systems depends on several factors, the most important of which is the correct knowledge of time. The position indirectly is based on the knowledge of the distance, which is determined based on time with the knowledge of the speed of the electromagnetic wave. Thus, proper (accurate) knowledge of time (GNSS clock stability) is a key to precise positioning. In this text, the long-term stability of the GNSS station clocks covering the years 1994-2020 was analysed. For this purpose, the corrections of the clocks at selected permanent stations were used, and their stability was determined for all years separately. Then the change of clock stability over time and the search for correlation were analysed. As the results showed, there are clearly differences between four of the type of oscillators analysed. In case of the comparison on an annual basis, no change over time was found.