Improved Carrier Tracking by Smoothing Estimators

Smoothing as a way to improve the carrier phase estimation is proposed and analyzed. The performance of first-and second-order Kalman optimum smoothers are investigated. This perfomance is evaluated in terms of steady-state covariance error computation, dynamic tracking, and noise response. It is shown that with practical amounts of memory, a second-order smoother can have a position error due to an acceleration or jerk step input less than any prescribed maximum. As an example of importance to the NASA deep space network (DSN), a second-order smoother can be used to track the Voyager spacecraft at Uranus and Neptune encounters with significantly better performance than a second-order phaselocked loop.