SP3

SP3: Precise Orbital Products

The toolbox allows the user to load SP3 precision products into the context.

When doing so:

• the provided context becomes PPP compliant in terms of orbital attitudes
• new orbital visualizations become available
• new time domain visualizations become available
• the Radio/SP3 residual analysis becomes available

Orbits visualization

Orbit visualization is requested with --orbits if Graphical Mode is first enabled with -g.

If SP3 files were loaded, their orbital content is projected.
If both NAV and SP3 files are loaded, both their orbital content are projected and you can graphically compare both. The orbital residual operation becomes available, it will project the residues between the SV state broadcasted over radio and the post processed SP3

Example:

./target/release/rinex-cli \
   -f test_resources/NAV/V3/ESBC00DNK_R_20201770000_01D_MN.rnx.gz \
   -f test_resources/SP3/GRG0MGXFIN_20201770000_01D_15M_ORB.SP3.gz \
   -P GPS \
   -g --orbits --orbit-residual

Time domain visualization

SP3 are not prefered in terms of temporal data (see PPP paragraph), but they may contain such information. If that is the case, the --clk visualization is enhanced and will project the clock states described in this file. A new SP3/Radio temporal residual analysis becomes available and is also generated.

Example: compare time domain information contained in the SP3 file to the broadcast radio, similarly to previous example:

./target/release/rinex-cli \
   -f test_resources/NAV/V3/ESBC00DNK_R_20201770000_01D_MN.rnx.gz \
   -f test_resources/SP3/GRG0MGXFIN_20201770000_01D_15M_ORB.SP3.gz \
   -P GPS \
   -g --clk --clk-residual

SP3 for PPP

SP3 provides the precise orbital information required for PPP.

We highly recommend attaching an SP3 file to any NAV RINEX file you provide, so the toolbox (mostly position solver)

• the prosition solver will always output much better results: the toolbox and its position solver will always perform much better.

⚠️ performing PPP with SP3 but without Clock RINEX is not ideal and most probably not recommended. Indeed SP3 is designed for position vector interpolation, not time domain interpolation. If you do this:

• position solving process will be slower: because you won't have the benefit of providing a Clock RINEX
• results may be incorrect depending on the time domain data contained in the SP3 file and how we interpolated them