A Review of Satellite Passive Localization: Principles, Parameter Estimation, and Positioning Algorithms

Wu Wang

¹School of Systems Information Science, Future University Hakodate, Hakodate, Japan

²School of Mathematics and Computer Science, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China

*Corresponding author

This paper provides a structured survey of satellite localization from the perspective of active and passive localization. After distinguishing the functional differences between active and passive localization, the paper focuses on satellite passive localization and reviews its main measurement mechanisms, including Time of Arrival (TOA), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA), Angle of Arrival (AOA), and their joint variants. For each method, we summarize the basic principles, observation models, localization solution processes, and commonly used accuracy evaluation metrics such as the Cram´er–Rao lower bound and the geometric dilution of precision. We further review parameter estimation techniques for TDOA and FDOA, as well as representative localization algorithms ranging from grid search and iterative solutions to pseudo-linear closed-form methods, convex optimization approaches, and emerging learning-based methods. Finally, the paper discusses key challenges in multi-parameter fusion, complex signal environments, and algorithmic robustness, and outlines future research directions for improving the performance and practicality of satellite passive localization systems.

Active and Passive Localization, Satellite Passive Localization, Parameter Estimation, Localization Solving Algorithms, Performance Analysis

Sibo Wang, Wu Wang (2025). A Review of Satellite Passive Localization: Principles, Parameter Estimation, and Positioning Algorithms. Journal of Networking and Network Applications, Volume 5, Issue 3, pp. 110–119. https://doi.org/10.33969/J-NaNA.2025.050301.

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