Nowadays, GPS receiver became one of the most important navigation
means systems. GPS system was designed for near Earth navigation,
nevertheless it’s also widely used in high dynamic environments such as
Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This paper is concerned with the performance test
of self-developed space-borne GPS receiver as a payload for a micro
satellite. A space-borne GPS receiver differs from a commercial receiver
due to the high Doppler shifts and Doppler shift rates experienced in the
high dynamics environment of LEO. Under the trend of low-cost satellite
design, a self-developed space-borne GPS navigation system is preferable.
At first, the signal characteristics such as visibility and Doppler shift with
respect to the GPS satellites are investigated for the satellite orbit of altitude
550 km and 22.3 deg of inclination. Next, the prototype of space-borne GPS
receiver is designed and tested by receiving GPS signal that generated by
GPS simulator, GSS7700. Some consequences of the high dynamical
environment are observed and appropriate countermeasures are presented.
The design and development of the space-borne GPS receiver are illustrated,
as well as its performance under a simulated high dynamical environment.