Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
Intersatellite laser ranging instrument for the GRACE follow-on mission
复制标题
DOI：
10.1007/s00190-012-0566-3
复制
发表时间：
2012-12-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Folkner, W. M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Sheard, B. S.;Heinzel, G.;Folkner, W. M.
重力恢复和气候实验（GRACE）表明，低-低卫星间跟踪能够监测全球范围内地球重力场的时间变化，特别是由水圈内的质量传输引起的变化。由于长期持续监测地球引力场变化的重要性以及GRACE的寿命有限，目前计划于2017年发射后续任务。为了最大限度地减少风险和发射时间，后续任务将基本上是GRACE的重建，以微波测距作为测量星间距离变化的主要仪器。激光干涉测量法已被提议作为一种为未来类似 GRACE 任务提高测距精度的方法，因此预计将作为演示实验纳入目前正在开发的后续任务中。本文介绍了干涉式激光测距系统的顶层架构，旨在演示该技术也可以与 GRACE 后续任务的微波测距系统并行运行。
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.