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A wideband digital data acquisition system has been developed to measure the clock offsets to the 10-ns accuracy required to facilitate three-way spacecraft ranging, to monitor the hydrogen maser frequency standard rates to 1 part in 10 to the forteenth power and to potentially reduce operational costs by replacing the current DSN operational time sync system.
The ongoing activities at the Venus Station (DSS 13) and the Microwave Test Facility (MTF) discussed include: (1) equipment implementation for unattended operation at DSS 13; (2) salvaging of a 20-kW klystron, at a cost savings of several thousand dollars by the DSN High Power Transmitter Facility; (3) extensive tracking activities with the 26-m antenna including DSN Platform Parameters, Multistation Planetary Radar, Helios II Spectrum Broadening Analysis, VLBI Validation, Planetary Radio Astronomy, and Pulsar Rotation Constancy, for a total time of 219-1/4 observing hours; (4) clock synchronization transmissions from the DSS 13 master clock to the overseas 64-m antenna complexes and special implementation activities in support of PV-78; and (5) implementation of a hydrogen maser frequency standard and the pathfinder installation of a utility control system (UCS) and significant station modification and maintenance.
Absolute line-center frequencies for eleven lines of ammonia in near coincidence with CO2-laser transitions have been determined to accuracies of + or -3 MHz by infrared heterodyne detection. These results were obtained by heterodyning a blackbody with a stable grating-tuned CO2 gas laser. A discussion of the apparatus and method of calculation, including error analysis, is presented. With these accurately determined line-center positions, the ammonia molecule will be a useful secondary-frequency standard for diode-laser spectroscopy in the 11-micron wavelength region.
The development of a high precision time interval digitizer is described. The time digitizer is a 10 psec resolution stop watch covering a range of up to 340 msec. The measured time interval is determined as a separation between leading edges of a pair of pulses applied externally to the start input and the stop input of the digitizer. Employing an interpolation techniques and a 50 MHz high precision master oscillator, the equivalent of a 100 GHz clock frequency standard is achieved. Absolute accuracy and stability of the digitizer are determined by the external 50 MHz master oscillator, which serves as a standard time marker. The start and stop pulses are fast 1 nsec rise time signals, according to the Nuclear Instrument means of tunnel diode discriminators. Firing level of the discriminator define start and stop points between which the time interval is digitized.
Preparation is being made by the DSN to monitor the stability of its clocks and frequency standards in the 64 meter net by means of VLBI. Since variations in the earth's rotation rate represent an error source to VLBI clock synchronization, the Allan Variance of the earth rotation was calculated to find that, in a long-term sense at least, these variations do not noticeably increase the differential instability of two clocks as measured by Intercontinental VLBI.
Very long baseline interferometry is a new capability being implemented in the DSN to support flight project navigation requirements and provide station frequency standard stability monitoring of sufficient accuracy to effectively validate hydrogen maser performance. A description of the system and the phases of its implementation are provided.
Hydrogen maser frequency standard is more stable by addition of parallel pyrex capillary tube array collimator. With collimator, maser line width has been made as narrow as 0.24 hertz representing fivefold improvement over maser without collimator. Fluorocarbon coating in tubes virtually eliminates energy loss in collimator.
Future tracking requirements and advantages over earth based stations justify the design of an orbiting, free flying very long base interferometry system to provide high resolution maps of celestial radio sources. Moderate technology development is required for the following: 30 meter to 60 meter diameter deployable parabolic antennas with less than 2 millimeters surface tolerance; a momentum wheel attitude control system with few arc/second accuracy; solar power design; a hydrogen maser atomic frequency standard; and the cryogenic receivers. The system must meet current Deep Space tracking capabilities as a minimum, and the technology must be compatible with system performance growth in the future. System lifetime must be ten years without major refurbishing.
The problems in obtaining international agreements on geostationary orbit availability, microwave frequency allocations and microwave frequency standards for satellites transmitting solar power are considered. The various U.S. policy options, strategies and time frames with respect to key issues are analyzed.
Time measurement, frequency standards and clock synchronization are discussed in terms of application to navigation and communication. Emphasis is placed on satellite applications.
A modular CAMAC based system is described which was developed to meet a variety of precise time and frequency measurement and distribution needs. The system was based on a generalization of the dual mixer concept. By using a 16 channel 100 ns event clock, the system can intercompare the phase of 16 frequency standards with subpicosecond resolution. The system has a noise floor of 26 fs and a long term stability on the order of 1 ps or better. The system also used a digitally controlled crystal oscillator in a control loop to provide an offsettable 5 MHz output with subpicosecond phase tracking capability. A detailed description of the system is given including theory of operation and performance. A method to improve the performance of the dual mixer technique is discussed when phase balancing of the two input ports cannot be accomplished.
Radio metric deep space navigation relies nearly exclusively upon coherent, two way, Doppler and ranging for all precise applications. These data types and the navigational accuracies they can produce are reviewed. The deployment of hydrogen maser frequency standards and the development of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) systems within the Deep Space Network are used in the development of non-coherent, one way data forms that promise much greater inherent navigational accuracy. The underlying structure between each data class and clock performance is charted. VLBI observations of the natural radio sources are the planned instrument for the synchronization task. This method and a navigational scheme using differential measurements between the spacecraft and nearby quasars are described.
The presently used JPL hydrogen maser suspended atomic storage bulb and a rigid, single-plane mounted bulb are compared. The new bulb incorporates three major design changes: (1) mounting design; (2) alterations to the collimator; and (3) decrease in mass. These design changes are expected to increase the long-term stability of the frequency standard by reducing its sensitivity to vibration and thermal effects.
Precisely timed pulses injected into the input of each receiver are used to calibrate the phase and group delay through each interferometer terminal. The short duration pulses are generated at a 1 MHz rate directly from the output of the frequency standard. The pulses are injected into the receiver at a level low enough to produce less than one percent increase in system temperature, yet can be extracted during processing with a high enough signal to noise ratio to determine the phase of the calibration rails within 1 degree in 1 second of integration. The calibration system also includes precise cable measurement electronics and a pulse echo for clock synchronization.
Since 1978 the time-and-frequency standard CS1 of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has operated continuously as a 'primary clock'. Its uncertainty (7.1 to the negative 15th power) is considerably smaller than that of the other existing primary standards. The CS1 is equipped with a combination of quadrupole and hexapole magnets and uses a longitudinal C-field. Consequences of utilizing primary clocks of this quality for the generation of the International Atomic Time Scale TAI are discussed.
An international coordinated experimental assessment of a system which promises to provide a synchronization of clocks bound to time and frequency standard laboratories, with an accuracy of one nanosecond using existing or near ground-based laser stations via a geostationary satellite (SIRIO-2) is detailed. The system performance and the technical details concerning the on-board equiment, the ground segment, and the operational configuration are discussed. Finally, the future prospects of the LASSO experiment and possible implementations are examined together.
The capability of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to monitor the stability of remotely located hydrogen maser frequency standards has been demonstrated by a series of experiments conducted between Deep Space Stations in Australia, Spain, and California. The measured stabilities of the clock systems, over approximately 10 day intervals, were 1 to 3 parts in 10 to the 13th power, with the instabilities due to the oscillators, the clock distribution systems, the receiving system delays, and the VLBI measurement error. Experiments were conducted independently using two different systems (BLOCK 0 and WBDAS). Later comparison shows agreement on the order of 1 part in 10 to the 13th power. Closure was demonstrated on three separate occasions to 33, 10, and 13 ns with an error uncertainty of + or - 42 ns. The results represent an important consistency check on VLBI measurements.
The signal to noise ratio (SNR) effect upon the maximum transmission length of a fiberoptic system is discussed. The relationships of different system parameters are discussed. A general formula to obtain the SNR of a single mode fiberoptic system is derived. The SNR attainable with single mode and multimode fiber optics links was calculated from fundamental noise considerations. It was found that for single mode fibers, laser noise dominates the noise contributions for links less than 30 km long, while thermal noise dominates for longer links. Multimode fibers degrade SNR for long links because of intermode dispersion. For frequency standard transmission, as long as the baseband modulation signals are within the bandwidth of the fibers, respectable SNR can be attained with low loss fibers (approximately 1 dB/km) for links as long as 70 km. For wideband transmission SNR is decreased by a factor equal to the ratio of the bandwidth.