ODYSSEY (Orbits-as-a-Service for Satellite Signals of Opportunity) is funded through Element 2 of the ESA NAVISP programme and is being carried out by GMV-UK. It will develop a precise orbit determination centre for communications satellite constellations. This will be used to provide a new commercial service generating precise orbits for different satellite constellations whose signals can be used as satellite signals of opportunity (SatSOOP) within a system of systems approach for assured Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT). This will be complemented by other related services as part of a wider service portfolio, with the project demonstrating SatSOOP performance monitoring and threat monitoring services. The orbit determination centre will be complemented with a test user receiver (TUR), capable of combining the precise orbit information with the SatSOOP to provide an end-to-end PNT capability, totally independent of GNSS. This will enable a demonstration of the achievable performance levels.

The initial implementation will monitor the Iridum, Orbcomm and Globalstar constellations, which are those favoured by early adopters of SatSOOP positioning and navigation. It will be designed to be compatible in the future with mega-constellations e.g. OneWeb and Starlink. A sensor network will be deployed across eight sites in Europe and Australia, using Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology to acquire and process the RF signals from the satellites to generate Frequency-Difference-Of-Arrival (FDOA), and Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA), observations using pairs of monitoring receivers that are located within the same footprint of each satellite in view.

ODYSSEY will address a wide range of stakeholders and community interests at an international scale and across government, industry, institutions, academia and users. This will include PNT service providers, LEO communication providers and PNT users.

The key deliverables will be the orbit determination centre software at TRL7 including proprietary algorithms, the sensor network and the TUR. The vision is to commence pre-operational services at the end of the project.