First Results on Acquisition and Tracking of the GIOVE-A Signal-In-Space

This paper presents the first results obtained processing the Signal-In-Space broadcast by the Galileo In — Orbit Validation Element A (GIOVE-A) satellite, the first experimental Galileo satellite. The paper analyzes both the acquisition and tracking phase of a Galileo software receiver able to process raw samples of the signal collected by means of a commercial front end. Starting from the description of the system set up used to collect the data set the paper introduces the Partial Correlation approach adopted in the acquisition phase and describes the tracking structures used to synchronize the local and the incoming codes. Techniques tailored to the new structure of the Galileo signal have been employed. In fact, the GIOVE-A signal uses novel modulation schemes and it is made of longer spreading codes that required modification to both the acquisition and tracking algorithms usually implemented within a GPS receiver.