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Precise station positions from VLBI observations to satellites: a simulation study

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Abstract

Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) tracking of satellites is a topic of increasing interest for the establishment of space ties. This shall strengthen the connection of the various space geodetic techniques that contribute to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. The concept of observing near-Earth satellites demands research on possible observing strategies. In this paper, we introduce this concept and discuss its possible benefits for improving future realizations of the International Terrestrial Reference System. Using simulated observations, we develop possible observing strategies that allow the determination of radio telescope positions in the satellite system on Earth with accuracies of a few millimeters up to 1–2 cm for weekly station coordinates. This is shown for satellites with orbital heights between 2,000 and 6,000 km, observed by dense regional as well as by global VLBI-networks. The number of observations, as mainly determined by the satellite orbit and the observation interval, is identified as the most critical parameter that affects the expected accuracies. For observations of global positioning system satellites, we propose the combination with classical VLBI to radio sources or a multi-satellite strategy. Both approaches allow station position repeatabilities of a few millimeters for weekly solutions.

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Notes

  1. http://iag.geo.tuwien.ac.at.

  2. MicroGEM is a feasibility study for future GNSS-remote sensing satellites of the GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) Potsdam. The concept, that in the meanwhile has been prolonged under the names “NanoGEM” and “NanoX”, also includes a VLBI transmitter aboard the satellite.

  3. The discussion of IVS WG 1 is available at: http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/wg/wg1.

  4. V. Tornatore, personal communication.

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Acknowledgments

The presented research was done within project D-VLBI (SCHU 1103/4-1) as part of the DFG Research Unit Space-Time Reference Systems for Monitoring Global Change and for Precise Navigation in Space funded by the German Research Foundation (FOR 1503). We kindly acknowledge four anonymous reviewers for their useful and detailed comments.

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  1. Lucia Plank

    Present address: University of Tasmania, Private Bag 37, Hobart, 7001, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vienna University of Technology, Gußhausstraße 27-29, 1040 , Vienna, Austria

    Lucia Plank & Johannes Böhm

  2. DeutschesGeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Telegrafenberg, A17, 14473 , Potsdam, Germany

    Harald Schuh

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  1. Lucia Plank
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  2. Johannes Böhm
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Correspondence to Lucia Plank.

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Plank, L., Böhm, J. & Schuh, H. Precise station positions from VLBI observations to satellites: a simulation study. J Geod 88, 659–673 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0712-1

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