Simulation analysis of positioning performance of BeiDou-2 satellite navigation system

The operation of Chinese BeiDou-2 satellite navigation system first project is in sight, the calculation and analysis of positioning performance of BeiDou-2 are necessary to understand the effect of BeiDou-2 on navigation and communication in China. The research of the paper is developed just based on this background. To ensure the safety of aviation and aerospace of navigation and communication, the overall evaluation of availability level of satellite navigation system becomes a necessity. A new method has been proposed for assessing availability of satellite navigation system based on this requirement. The positioning performances of GPS also have been simulated for comparison. Simulation results reveal that the positioning performance of BeiDou-2 system is satisfactory within 10 degrees mask angle. The visibility, variation of dilution of precision, and availability of BeiDou-2 system are superior to those of GPS in China. The positioning accuracy of GPS is slightly superior to that of BeiDou-2 within 5° mask angle, on the other hand, the positioning accuracy of BeiDou-2 is better when the mask angle exceeds 10 degrees.