Sequential GPS Doppler carrier phase count measurements are used for precision
sequential determination of position and velocity of a GPS receiver, such as for
orbit determination and geolocation, with minimum throughput time. Real-time orbit
determination and geolocation performance is enabled with an optimal sequential
filter, and near-real-time performance is enabled with an optimal fixed-lag smoother.
Many problems associated with prior art orbit determination are eliminated by addressing
the "cycle slip" problem, the unknown initial range problem with RANGECP measurement
representations, the problem of serial correlation in the measurements due to reprocessing
of overlapping thermal noise. Also, the present invention significantly attenuates
the carrier signal phase variation due to rotation of receiver antenna relative
to transmitter antenna because the sequential phase count time intervals are sufficiently short.