September 28, 2021
Researchers have discovered a method that could be used for navigation after signals from SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites were used to pinpoint locations on Earth within eight meters of accuracy.
Zak Kassas, director of the project, and Mohammad Neinavale, a Ph.D. student at UC-Irvine noted that their “team had used similar techniques with other low-Earth orbit satellite constellations, but with less accuracy, pinpointing locations within about 23 meters,” however in the last test, “we waited 800 seconds to get signals from six satellites since we’re not able yet to see six satellites above us simultaneously.”
Kassas said that would change when SpaceX launches more satellites into space, as “We’re preparing another experiment for real-time position estimation in which we’ll use four Starlink satellite signals simultaneously above us.”
The thousands of satellites that SpaceX has launched into space “will allow for both real-time navigation and a much higher level of accuracy than what we achieved so far,” he said.
For more information, read the original story in Artechnica.
