Direct Impact Monitoring of Lightning Activity on the GPS Signals Propagatio

GPS data are now available at certain location around the world for any possible scientific uses. The greatest challenge is how to utilize GPS data to monitor lighting activity. This paper addressed the examination of direct impact of lightning activity on GPS signals. Three cases of severe lightning events on August 22 of 2009 at Launching Pad, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, USA is studied. The GPS receiver at CCV6 station used for this work is 18 km away from KSC. As well, the response of solar flares on GPS signals to the lightning activity is presented for a comparison impact. The analysis was made by differencing the GPS observables.