A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
Abstract The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has demonstrated that low–low satellite-to-satellite tracking enables monitoring the time variations of the Earth’s gravity field on a global scale, in particular those caused by mass-transport within the hydrosphere. Due to the importance of long-term continued monitoring of the variations of the Earth’s gravitational field and the limited lifetime of GRACE, a follow-on mission is currently planned to be launched in 2017. In order to minimise risk and the time to launch, the follow-on mission will be basically a rebuild of GRACE with microwave ranging as the primary instrument for measuring changes of the intersatellite distance. Laser interferometry has been proposed as a method to achieve improved ranging precision for future GRACE-like missions and is therefore foreseen to be included as demonstrator experiment in the follow-on mission now under development. This paper presents the top-level architecture of an interferometric laser ranging system designed to demonstrate the technology which can also operate in parallel with the microwave ranging system of the GRACE follow-on mission.
Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
Abstract The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has demonstrated that low–low satellite-to-satellite tracking enables monitoring the time variations of the Earth’s gravity field on a global scale, in particular those caused by mass-transport within the hydrosphere. Due to the importance of long-term continued monitoring of the variations of the Earth’s gravitational field and the limited lifetime of GRACE, a follow-on mission is currently planned to be launched in 2017. In order to minimise risk and the time to launch, the follow-on mission will be basically a rebuild of GRACE with microwave ranging as the primary instrument for measuring changes of the intersatellite distance. Laser interferometry has been proposed as a method to achieve improved ranging precision for future GRACE-like missions and is therefore foreseen to be included as demonstrator experiment in the follow-on mission now under development. This paper presents the top-level architecture of an interferometric laser ranging system designed to demonstrate the technology which can also operate in parallel with the microwave ranging system of the GRACE follow-on mission.
Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
Sheard, B. S. (author) / Heinzel, G. (author) / Danzmann, K. (author) / Shaddock, D. A. (author) / Klipstein, W. M. (author) / Folkner, W. M. (author)
Journal of Geodesy ; 86
2012
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
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