Satellite relaying for geolocation and mitigation of GNSS denial

A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that cause a computer on a processing device to execute a process, the process comprising:

• receiving, from a satellite used for communication along a communication path, a message initiated by an originating transmitting device, the communication path having a target device with an unknown distance to the satellite used for communication, the message indicating a transmission time by the originating transmitting device;
• determining a reception time upon receiving the message, wherein the processing device and the originating transmitting device have synchronized clocks;
• determining a time difference between the transmission time and the reception time;
• calculating a distance between the satellite used for communication and the target device, the distance calculated based on a portion of the determined time difference associated with only traversal of a portion of the communication path that is between the satellite used for communication and the target device;
• and
• performing one or more actions based on the distance between the satellite used for communication satellite and the target device.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a processor configured to execute one or more processes;
• a communication interface configured to communicate via one or more satellite antennas associated with the apparatus;
• and
• a memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process, when executed, configured to perform a process comprising:
• receiving, from a satellite used for communication along a communication path, a message initiated by an originating transmitting device, the communication path having a target device with an unknown distance to the satellite used for communication, the message indicating a transmission time by the originating transmitting device;
• determining a reception time upon receiving the message, wherein the processing device and the originating transmitting device have synchronized clocks;
• determining a time difference between the transmission time and the reception time;
• calculating a distance between the satellite used for communication and the target device, the distance calculated based on a portion of the determined time difference associated with only traversal of a portion of the communication path that is between the satellite used for communication and the target device;
• and
• performing one or more actions based on the distance between the satellite used for communication and the target device.