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arXiv · 2503.17791

Single-Satellite-Based Geolocation of Broadcast GNSS Spoofers from Low Earth Orbit

Zachary L. Clements·Patrick B. Ellis·Iain Goodridge·Matthew J. Murrian·Mark L. Psiaki·Todd E. Humphreys
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Abstract

This paper presents an analysis and experimental demonstration of single-satellite single-pass geolocation of a terrestrial broadcast Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofer from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The proliferation of LEO-based GNSS receivers offers the prospect of unprecedented spectrum awareness, enabling persistent GNSS interference detection and geolocation. Accurate LEO-based single-receiver emitter geolocation is possible when a range-rate time history can be extracted for the emitter. This paper presents a technique crafted specifically for indiscriminate broadcast-type GNSS spoofing signals. Furthermore, it explores how unmodeled oscillator instability and worst-case spoofer-introduced signal variations degrade the geolocation estimate. The proposed geolocation technique is validated by a controlled experiment, in partnership with Spire Global, in which a LEO-based receiver captures broadcast GNSS spoofing signals transmitted from a known ground station on a non-GNSS frequency band.

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Zachary L. Clements, Patrick B. Ellis, Iain Goodridge, Matthew J. Murrian, Mark L. Psiaki, Todd E. Humphreys. 2025-03-22. Single-Satellite-Based Geolocation of Broadcast GNSS Spoofers from Low Earth Orbit. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17791

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