Next generation of ESA's GNSS receivers for Earth Observation satellites

This paper presents the key elements of the next generation of miniaturised GNSS space receivers in the European Space Agency (ESA) compatible with the new and more robust GNSS signals from Galileo, modernized GPS, Glonass and Compass-Beidou. A quick review of applications like Precise Orbit Determination (POD) and Radio Occultation (RO) is provided together with the performance achieved in current satellites like MetOp or GOCE and expected in future ESA satellites. The key architectural building blocks of future GNSS space receivers are presented, with focus on components like the AGGA-4 baseband GNSS processor and also, but to a less extent, on programmable RF ASICs. These components, in combination with the more robust features from the new GNSS signals, bring a significant improvement with respect to their predecessors (e.g. AGGA-2 based) and also represent an important step towards miniaturisation of the next generation of GNSS space instruments.