Atmospheric delay correction for non-terrestrial network nodes

A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:

• receiving a set of reference signals (RSs) from a set of non-terrestrial network (NTN) nodes, wherein the set of RSs travel through a first portion of an atmosphere and a second portion of the atmosphere;
• measuring the set of RSs;
• calculating at least one of a set of ionosphere delay rates or a set of rates of total electron content (ROTs) based on the measured set of RSs;
• selecting a first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates based on the first subset being less than or equal to a threshold or selecting a second subset of the calculated set of ROTs based on the second subset being less than or equal to the threshold;
• calculating, using at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, a first set of atmospheric delays associated with the first portion of the atmosphere and a second set of atmospheric delays associated with the second portion of the atmosphere;
• and
• calculating a location of the UE based on the measured set of RSs associated with at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, the calculated first set of atmospheric delays, and the calculated second set of atmospheric delays.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:

• means for receiving a set of reference signals (RSs) from a set of non-terrestrial network (NTN) nodes, wherein the set of RSs travel through a first portion of an atmosphere and a second portion of the atmosphere;
• means for measuring the set of RSs;
• means for calculating at least one of a set of ionosphere delay rates or a set of rates of total electron content (ROTs) based on the measured set of RSs;
• means for selecting a first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates based on the first subset being less than or equal to a threshold or selecting a second subset of the calculated set of ROTs based on the second subset being less than or equal to the threshold;
• means for calculating, using at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, a first set of atmospheric delays associated with the first portion of the atmosphere and a second set of atmospheric delays associated with the second portion of the atmosphere;
• and
• means for calculating a location of the UE based on the measured set of RSs associated with at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, the calculated first set of atmospheric delays, and the calculated second set of atmospheric delays.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code at a user equipment (UE), the code when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to:

• receive a set of reference signals (RSs) from a set of non-terrestrial network (NTN) nodes, wherein the set of RSs travel through a first portion of an atmosphere and a second portion of the atmosphere;
• measure the set of RSs;
• calculate at least one of a set of ionosphere delay rates or a set of rates of total electron content (ROTs) based on the measured set of RSs;
• select a first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates based on the first subset being less than or equal to a threshold or select a second subset of the calculated set of ROTs based on the second subset being less than or equal to the threshold;
• calculate, using at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, a first set of atmospheric delays associated with the first portion of the atmosphere and a second set of atmospheric delays associated with the second portion of the atmosphere;
• and
• calculate a location of the UE based on the measured set of RSs associated with at least one of the selected first subset of the calculated set of ionosphere delay rates or the selected second subset of the calculated set of ROTs, the calculated first set of atmospheric delays, and the calculated second set of atmospheric delays.