KEYNOTE: Extracting Precise Timing from LEO Megaconstellations
Speakers
- Todd Humphreys, The University of Texas at Austin
Description
Global navigation satellite system technology (GNSS) is currently the most
prevalent used for global precise time distribution. However, traditional GNSS
is vulnerable to jamming and spoofing attacks, and threats to traditional GNSS
are multiplying dramatically in recent years. In this talk, I will examine the
possibility of pulling precise time from LEO megaconstellations such as SpaceX’s
Starlink constellation, now with more than 9k satellites. I will show that
Starlink timing is disciplined to GPS time, but only to within a few ms, and
that the onboard clocks exhibit behaviors not conducive to precise timing.
OneWeb signals, however, look promising for global precise timing, and it is
likely that the emerging Amazon Leo constellation will offer the best
performance of all.