Satellite laser ranging

This article is about the up-looking type of satellite laser. For the down-looking type, see Satellite laser altimetry.
Laser Ranging System of the geodetic observatory Wettzell, Bavaria

In satellite laser ranging (SLR) a global network of observation stations measures the round trip time of flight of ultrashort pulses of light to satellites equipped with retroreflectors. This provides instantaneous range measurements of millimeter level precision which can be accumulated to provide accurate measurement of orbits and a host of important scientific data. The laser pulse can also be reflected by the surface of a satellite without a retroreflector, which is used for tracking space debris.[1]

Satellite laser ranging is a proven geodetic technique with significant potential for important contributions to scientific studies of the earth/atmosphere/ocean system. It is the most accurate technique currently available to determine the geocentric position of an Earth satellite, allowing for the precise calibration of radar altimeters and separation of long-term instrumentation drift from secular changes in ocean topography.

Its ability to measure the variations over time in Earth's gravity field and to monitor motion of the station network with respect to the geocenter, together with the capability to monitor vertical motion in an absolute system, makes it unique for modeling and evaluating long-term climate change by:[2]

  • providing a reference system for post-glacial rebound, plate tectonics, sea level and ice volume change[3]
  • determining the temporal mass redistribution of the solid earth, ocean, and atmosphere system[4]
  • determining Earth orientation parameters, such as Earth pole coordinates and length-of-day variations[5]
  • determining of precise satellite orbits for artificial satellites with and without active devices onboard[6][7]
  • monitoring the response of the atmosphere to seasonal variations in solar heating.[8]

SLR provides a unique capability for verification of the predictions of the theory of general relativity, such as the frame-dragging effect.

SLR stations form an important part of the international network of space geodetic observatories, which include VLBI, GPS, DORIS and PRARE systems. On several critical missions, SLR has provided failsafe redundancy when other radiometric tracking systems have failed.

  1. ^ Kucharski, D.; Kirchner, G.; Bennett, J. C.; Lachut, M.; Sośnica, K.; Koshkin, N.; Shakun, L.; Koidl, F.; Steindorfer, M.; Wang, P.; Fan, C.; Han, X.; Grunwaldt, L.; Wilkinson, M.; Rodríguez, J.; Bianco, G.; Vespe, F.; Catalán, M.; Salmins, K.; del Pino, J. R.; Lim, H.-C.; Park, E.; Moore, C.; Lejba, P.; Suchodolski, T. (October 2017). "Photon Pressure Force on Space Debris TOPEX/Poseidon Measured by Satellite Laser Ranging: Spin-Up of Topex". Earth and Space Science. 4 (10): 661–668. doi:10.1002/2017EA000329.
  2. ^ Pearlman, M.; Arnold, D.; Davis, M.; Barlier, F.; Biancale, R.; Vasiliev, V.; Ciufolini, I.; Paolozzi, A.; Pavlis, E. C.; Sośnica, K.; Bloßfeld, M. (November 2019). "Laser geodetic satellites: a high-accuracy scientific tool". Journal of Geodesy. 93 (11): 2181–2194. Bibcode:2019JGeod..93.2181P. doi:10.1007/s00190-019-01228-y. S2CID 127408940.
  3. ^ Zajdel, R.; Sośnica, K.; Drożdżewski, M.; Bury, G.; Strugarek, D. (November 2019). "Impact of network constraining on the terrestrial reference frame realization based on SLR observations to LAGEOS". Journal of Geodesy. 93 (11): 2293–2313. Bibcode:2019JGeod..93.2293Z. doi:10.1007/s00190-019-01307-0.
  4. ^ Sośnica, Krzysztof; Jäggi, Adrian; Meyer, Ulrich; Thaller, Daniela; Beutler, Gerhard; Arnold, Daniel; Dach, Rolf (October 2015). "Time variable Earth's gravity field from SLR satellites". Journal of Geodesy. 89 (10): 945–960. Bibcode:2015JGeod..89..945S. doi:10.1007/s00190-015-0825-1.
  5. ^ Sośnica, K.; Bury, G.; Zajdel, R.; Strugarek, D.; Drożdżewski, M.; Kazmierski, K. (December 2019). "Estimating global geodetic parameters using SLR observations to Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, GPS, and QZSS". Earth, Planets and Space. 71 (1): 20. Bibcode:2019EP&S...71...20S. doi:10.1186/s40623-019-1000-3.
  6. ^ Bury, Grzegorz; Sośnica, Krzysztof; Zajdel, Radosław (December 2019). "Multi-GNSS orbit determination using satellite laser ranging". Journal of Geodesy. 93 (12): 2447–2463. Bibcode:2019JGeod..93.2447B. doi:10.1007/s00190-018-1143-1.
  7. ^ Strugarek, Dariusz; Sośnica, Krzysztof; Jäggi, Adrian (January 2019). "Characteristics of GOCE orbits based on Satellite Laser Ranging". Advances in Space Research. 63 (1): 417–431. Bibcode:2019AdSpR..63..417S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2018.08.033. S2CID 125791718.
  8. ^ Bury, Grzegorz; Sosnica, Krzysztof; Zajdel, Radoslaw (June 2019). "Impact of the Atmospheric Non-tidal Pressure Loading on Global Geodetic Parameters Based on Satellite Laser Ranging to GNSS". IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 57 (6): 3574–3590. Bibcode:2019ITGRS..57.3574B. doi:10.1109/TGRS.2018.2885845. S2CID 127713034.