BackForwardInstrument:  GAP 

Instrument details
Acronym GAP
Full name GPS Attitude and Positioning Experiment
Purpose To measure spacecraft velocity and attitude as well as TEC (Total Electron Content) of the ionosphere
Short description GPS receiver for positioning and navigation, also measuring the Total Electron Content between the platform and the GPS satellite by the phase delay of two operating frequencies
Background Part of a package of instruments to study the Magnetosphere
Scanning Technique Travelling cross the Magnetosphere in a highly-elliptical orbit
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle N/A
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency CSA
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: 2014 to 2021
Last update: 2022-07-25
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Other payload component
  • Positioning system
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Magnetospheric energetic particles and magnetometers
  • Ionospheric total electron content sensor [at LEO and cross magnetosphere]
Mission objectives
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Geoid4 - fairHighly indirect.Opportunity information from GNSS receiver used for precise orbit determination
Gravity field5 - marginalHighly indirect.Opportunity information from GNSS receiver used for precise orbit determination