Optical response of nanosatellite BLITS measured by the Graz 2 kHz SLR system

The nanosatellite BLITS (Ball Lens In The Space) is the first object designed as a passive, spherical retroreflector of the Luneburg type, dedicated for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). The optical response of BLITS has been measured by the Graz 2 kHz SLR station and compared with the response of the classical retroreflector arrays (RRA) of the Low Earth Orbiting satellites such as ERS-2 and Stella. This work demonstrates that the optical response of BLITS is flat and featureless, comparable with the signature of a point-source or a flat target, and suggests that this innovative design will deliver a higher normal point (NP) accuracy (2.55 mm) than any other SLR target currently in orbit. The high reflectivity of the glassy BLITS (about 60% of the return rate from the multi-reflector Stella) is found to be decreasing by about 30% per year, probably due to the solar irradiation. Detailed analysis of the reflective half-shell demonstrates that a high return rate of SLR measurements can be achieved regardless of the incident angle of the laser beam, thus making the spherical lens a perfect successor of the classical RRA panels mounted on active satellites such as CHAMP, GOCE and GRACE.     

New results on spin determination of nanosatellite BLITS from High Repetition Rate SLR data

The nanosatellite BLITS (Ball Lens In The Space) demonstrates a successful design of the new spherical lens type satellite for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). The spin parameters of the satellite were calculated from more than 1000 days of SLR data collected from 6 High Repetition Rate (HRR) systems: Beijing, Changchun, Graz, Herstmonceux, Potsdam, Shanghai.     

Spin parameters of High Earth Orbiting satellites Etalon-1 and Etalon-2 determined from kHz Satellite Laser Ranging data

The high repetition rate Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) system developed in Graz, Austria, measures ranges to the High Earth Orbiting satellites Etalon-1 and Etalon-2 with the millimeter accuracy. The 2 kHz repetition rate of the laser and the relatively high return rates allow to use the SLR data to calculate the spin parameters of the Etalon satellites. The analysis of the 10 years (October 2003–September 2013) of the SLR data gives trends of the spin axes orientation (J2000 Inertial Reference Frame):     

Spectral response of Experimental Geodetic Satellite determined from high repetition rate SLR data

The design of the retroreflector array (RRA) of the fast spinning Experimental Geodetic Satellite (Ajisai) allows to determine orientation of its spin axis by means of frequency analysis. Moving spectral analysis (MSA) of the simulated Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data gives information about frequencies which can be obtained for the whole range of the incident angle between the laser beam vector and the spin axis of the spacecraft. This frequency signal changes as the incident laser beam crosses consecutive rings of the RRA.     

Spin parameters of Low Earth Orbiting satellites Larets and Stella determined from Satellite Laser Ranging data

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) measurements contain information about the spin parameters of the fully passive, geodetic satellites. In this paper we spectrally analyze the SLR data of 5 geodetic satellites placed on the Low Earth Orbits: GFZ-1, WESTPAC, Larets, Starlette, Stella, and successfully retrieve the frequency signal from Larets and Stella only. The obtained signals indicate an exponential increase of the spin period of Larets: T = 0.860499·exp(0.0197066·D) [s], and Stella: T = 13.5582·exp(0.00431232·D) [s], where D is in days since launch. The initial spin periods calculated from the first month of the SLR observations are: Larets: T_initial = 0.8239 s, Stella: T_initial = 13.2048 s. Analysis of the apparent effects indicates the counter-clockwise spin direction of the satellites. The twice more heavy Stella lost its rotational energy more than four times slower than Larets. Fitting the spin model to the observed spin trends allows determination of the spin axis orientation evolution for Larets and Stella before their rotational period becomes equal to the orbital period.     

Spin rate and spin axis orientation of LARES spectrally determined from Satellite Laser Ranging data

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is a powerful technique able to measure spin rate and spin axis orientation of the fully passive, geodetic satellites. This work presents results of the spin determination of LARES – a new satellite for testing General Relativity. 529 SLR passes measured between February 17 and June 9, 2012, were spectrally analyzed. Our results indicate that the initial spin frequency of LARES is f₀ = 86.906 mHz (RMS = 0.539 mHz). A new method for spin axis determination, developed for this analysis, gives orientation of the axis at RA = 12^h22^m48^s (RMS = 49^m), Dec = −70.4° (RMS = 5.2°) (J2000.0 celestial reference frame), and the clockwise (CW) spin direction. The half-life period of the satellite’s spin is 214.924 days and indicates fast slowing down of the spacecraft.     

10 Years of LAGEOS-1 and 15 years of LAGEOS-2 spin period determination from SLR data

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) stations measure distance to the satellites equipped with Corner Cube Reflectors (CCRs). These range measurements contain information about spin parameters of the spacecraft. In this paper we present results of spin period determination of two passive satellites from SLR data only: 10 years of LAGEOS-1 (10426 values), and 15 years of LAGEOS-2 (15580 values). The measurements have been made by standard 10 Hz SLR systems and the first 2 kHz SLR system from Graz (Austria). The obtained data allowed calculation of the initial spin period of the satellites: 0.61 s for LAGEOS-1 and 0.906 s for LAGEOS-2. Long time series of the spin period values show that the satellite’s slowing down rate is not constant but is oscillating with a period of 846 days for LAGEOS-1 and 578 days for LAGEOS-2. The results presented here definitely prove that the SLR is a very efficient technique able to measure spin period of the geodetic satellites.     

Estimation of the Love and Shida numbers: h2, l2 using SLR data for the low satellites

In this paper we present results for the global elastic parameters: Love number h₂ and Shida number l₂ derived from the analysis of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data. SLR data for the two low satellites STELLA (H = 800 km) and STARLETTE (H = 810 km) observed during 2.5 years from January 3, 2005 until July 1, 2007 with 18 globally distributed ground stations were analyzed. The analysis was done separately for the two satellites. We do a sequential analysis and study the stability and convergence of the estimates as a function of length of the data set used.     

Spin motion determination of the Envisat satellite through laser ranging measurements from a single pass measured by a single station

The Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) technology is used to accurately determine the position of space objects equipped with so-called retro-reflectors or retro-reflector arrays (RRA). This type of measurement allows to measure the range to the spacecraft with high precision, which leads to determination of very accurate orbits for these targets. Non-active spacecraft, which are not attitude controlled any longer, tend to start to spin or tumble under influence of the external and internal torques and forces.If the return signal is measured for a non-spherical non-active rotating object, the signal in the range residuals with respect to the reference orbit is more complex. For rotating objects the return signal shows an oscillating pattern or patterns caused by the RRA moving around the satellite’s centre of mass. This behaviour is projected onto the radial component measured by the SLR.In our work, we demonstrate how the SLR ranging technique from one sensor to a satellite equipped with a RRA can be used to precisely determine its spin motion during one passage. Multiple SLR measurements of one target over time allow to accurately monitor spin motion changes which can be further used for attitude predictions. We show our solutions of the spin motion determined for the non-active ESA satellite Envisat obtained from measurements acquired during years 2013–2015 by the Zimmerwald SLR station, Switzerland. All the necessary parameters are defined for our own so-called point-like model which describes the motion of a point in space around the satellite centre of mass.     

Determination of station positions and velocities from laser ranging observations to Ajisai,Starlette and Stella satellites

The positions and velocities of the four Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) stations: Yarragadee (7090), Greenbelt (7105), Graz (7839) and Herstmonceux (7840) from 5-year (2001–2005) SLR data of low orbiting satellites (LEO): Ajisai, Starlette and Stella were determined. The orbits of these satellites were computed from the data provided by 20 SLR stations. All orbital computations were performed by means of NASA Goddard’s GEODYN-II program. The geocentric coordinates were transformed to the topocentric North–South, East–West and Vertical components in reference to ITRF2005. The influence of the number of normal points per orbital arc and the empirical acceleration coefficients on the quality of station coordinates was studied. To get standard deviation of the coordinates determination lower than 1 cm, the number of the normal points per site had to be greater than 50. The computed positions and velocities were compared to those derived from LAGEOS-1/LAGEOS-2 data. Three parameters were used for this comparison: station coordinates stability, differences from ITRF2005 positions and velocities. The stability of coordinates of LEO satellites is significantly worse (17.8 mm) than those of LAGEOS (7.6 mm), the better results are for Ajisai (15.4 mm) than for Starlette/Stella (20.4 mm). The difference in positions between the computed values and ITRF2005 were little bit worse for Starlette/Stella (6.6 mm) than for LAGEOS (4.6 mm), the results for Ajisai were five times worse (29.7 mm) probably due to center of mass correction of this satellite. The station velocities with some exceptions were on the same level (≈1 mm/year) for all satellites. The results presented in this work show that results from Starlette/Stella are better than those from Ajisai for station coordinates determination. We can applied the data from LEO satellites, especially Starlette and Stella for determination of the SLR station coordinates but with two times lower accuracy than when using LAGEOS data.     

Precursory signature of several major earthquakes studied using 40 kHz low frequency signal

To investigate the precursory signature of earthquakes on low frequency (LF) signal propagation, six earthquakes, having magnitude greater than equal to 6.5 and depth less than equal to 30 km, are being studied. The base line level of 40 kHz signal, transmitted from JJY station, Japan, is analysed with respect to V_d statistical parameter. Results show that the V_d parameter values starts fluctuating from its ambient levels before and during the days of the earthquakes, with significant variation starting 1–3 days prior to the earthquake concerned. This present study is an approach for identifying the precursory signatures of earthquakes on LF signal propagation using a new methodology with V_d parameter.     

QSO number counts to B < 24.5 from hubble space telescope WFPC2 images

We have conducted a survey for faint quasars to B < 24.5, z < 2.1 based on archival high-latitude Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images covering 0.04 deg² of the sky in three filters spanning 2300–9600 Å. Taking advantage of the superb 0.1″ resolution of WFPC2, we have developed an approach to select quasar candidates based on their morphology and position in multicolor space. We derive cumulative surface densities and compare them with our previous survey in the Groth–Westphal Strip and other faint quasar surveys that utilize very different selection approaches. In most cases the agreement with these surveys is good, however, we find approximately twice as many quasar candidates to B = 24.5 as the COMBO-17 survey. Although we are confident that our approach eliminates most contaminating stars and galaxies, spectroscopic follow-up will be required to determine the level of residual contamination and confirm or refute this excess.     

Extension of INCL4 between 2 and 15 GeV

The intranuclear cascade model INCL4 has been shown to be very successful for describing, without adjustable parameters, a whole set of data for p-induced reactions in the 40 MeV–2 GeV energy range. In view of its possible application to cosmic ray interactions, the INCL4 code has been extended to the 2–15 GeV energy range, so covering a large part of the spectrum of the incident energy of the cosmic rays.     

Evolution of solar wind structures from 0.72 to 1 AU

Understanding the evolution of solar wind structures in the inner heliosphere as they approach the Earth is important to space weather prediction. From the in situ solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements of Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) at 0.72 AU (1979–1988), and of Wind/Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) missions at 1 AU (1995–2004), we identify and characterize two major solar wind structures, stream interaction regions (SIRs) and interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). The average percentage of SIRs occurring with shocks increases significantly from 3% to 24% as they evolve from 0.72 to 1 AU. The average occurrence rate, radial extent, and bulk velocity variation of SIRs do not change from 0.72 to 1 AU, while peak pressure and magnetic field strength both decrease with the radial evolution of SIRs. Within the 0.28 AU distance from the orbit of Venus to that of Earth, the average fraction of ICMEs with shocks increases from 49% to 66%, and the typical radial extent of ICMEs expands by about a fraction of 1.4, with peak pressure and magnetic field strength decreasing significantly. The mean occurrence rate and expansion velocity of ICMEs do not change from 0.72 to 1 AU.     

An estimation of tropospheric corrections using GPS and synoptic data: Improving Urmia Lake water level time series from Jason-2 and SARAL/AltiKa satellite altimetry

Tropospheric correction is one of the most important corrections in satellite altimetry measurements. Tropospheric wet and dry path delays have strong dependence on temperature, pressure and humidity. Tropospheric layer has particularly high variability over coastal regions due to humidity, wind and temperature gradients. Depending on the extent of water body and wind conditions over an inland water, Wet Tropospheric Correction (WTC) is within the ranges from a few centimeters to tens of centimeters. Therefore, an extra care is needed to estimate tropospheric corrections on the altimetric measurements over inland waters. This study assesses the role of tropospheric correction on the altimetric measurements over the Urmia Lake in Iran. For this purpose, four types of tropospheric corrections have been used: (i) microwave radiometer (MWR) observations, (ii) tropospheric corrections computed from meteorological models, (iii) GPS observations and (iv) synoptic station data. They have been applied to Jason-2 track no. 133 and SARAL/AltiKa track no. 741 and 356 corresponding to 117–153 and the 23–34 cycles, respectively. In addition, the corresponding measurements of PISTACH and PEACHI, include new retracking method and an innovative wet tropospheric correction, have also been used. Our results show that GPS observation leads to the most accurate tropospheric correction. The results obtained from the PISTACH and PEACHI projects confirm those obtained with the standard SGDR, i.e., the role of GPS in improving the tropospheric corrections. It is inferred that the MWR data from Jason-2 mission is appropriate for the tropospheric corrections, however the SARAL/AltiKa one is not proper because Jason-2 possesses an enhanced WTC near the coast. Furthermore, virtual stations are defined for assessment of the results in terms of time series of Water Level Height (WLH). The results show that GPS tropospheric corrections lead to the most accurate WLH estimation for the selected virtual stations, which improves the accuracy of the obtained WLH time series by about 5%.     

Variability of the behavior of the bottomside (B0, B1) parameters obtained from the ground-based ionograms at China’s low latitude station

In this paper, data of (B0, B1) parameters deduced from the electron density profiles that are inverted from the ionograms recorded at Hainan (19.4°N, 109.0°E), China during a three year period from March 2002 to February 2005 are used to study the diurnal and seasonal variation of (B0, B1) parameters at low latitude. The observational results are compared with the IRI2001 model predictions. Variability study of (B0, B1) in terms of percentage ratio of the inter-quartiles to the median values and correlative analysis between (B0, B1) parameters and other ionospheric characteristics such as hmF2 and M(3000)F2 are also made. Our present study showed that: (1) for daytime hours, the IRI2001 model results with new table option (B0_Tab) is in a better agreement with the observational results (B0_Obs) than the IRI2001 model results with Gulyaeva option (B0_Gul) for summer season, whereas B0_Gul is in a better agreement with B0_Obs than B0_Tab for winter season. For nighttime, in general, B0_Gul is in a better agreement with B0_Obs than B0_Tab. For other occasions, both B0_Tab and B0_Gul showed some systematic deviations from the observational ones. Moreover, the deviations of B0_Tab and B0_Gul from B0_Obs showed opposite trends; (2) the monthly upper (lower) quartiles of (B0, B1) parameter showed a good linear relationship with the monthly median values, this makes it possible to do the regression analysis between the monthly upper (lower) quartiles and the monthly median values, which can give a measure of the variability of these parameters. In terms of the percentage ratio of the inter-quartiles to the median values, the variability of B0 showed a diurnal variation ranging between 22% and 36% with maximum value occurring at pre-sunrise hours, whereas the variability of B1 showed a diurnal variation ranging between 15% and 30% with higher value by daytime than at night; (3) B0 shows high linear correlative relationships with hmF2 and M(3000)F2 for most of the local time period of a day except for a few hours around midnight, whereas B1 showed high linear correlations with B0, hmF2 for daytime hours, but not for nighttime hours. This suggests that it maybe is possible to obtain the synthetic database of (B0, B1) parameter or to construct the model of (B0, B1) using database of hmF2 or M(3000)F2 which is much easier to obtain from experimental measurements.