Satellite Autonomous Clock Fault Monitoring with InterSatellite Ranges Using Euclidean Distance Matrices
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: To support reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services for lunar satellite constellations, this paper proposes a framework for detecting satellite clock phase jumps using dual one-way inter-satellite range measurements. The method models the constellation as a weighted graph and exploits rigidity properties to detect faults. Specifically, satellite clock faults are identified by monitoring the realizability of vertex-redundantly rigid subgraphs through the singular values of geometric-centered Euclidean distance matrices (GCEDMs). We establish the graph-topological conditions required for fault detection and derive the statistical distribution of the GCEDM test statistic under both nominal and faulty conditions. To address sparse link connectivity, we also introduce an ephemeris-augmented formulation that combines measured and estimated ranges and performs fault detection on fault-detectable subgraphs. Simulation results using a terrestrial Global Positioning System constellation and a notional lunar constellation demonstrate that the proposed approach provides robust fault detection under both dense and sparse measurement conditions.
DOI: 10.33012/navi.764
Authors: Iiyama Keidai, Neamati Daniel,, Gao Grace
Institution: Stanford University
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W4416095081