Goddard range and range rate and laser station coordinates from GEOS-2 data
Center of mass station coordinates determined from dynamic solutions of optical, laser, and Goddard range and range rate observations of GEOS 2
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Center of mass station coordinates determined from dynamic solutions of optical, laser, and Goddard range and range rate observations of GEOS 2
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A comparison is presented of sets of satellite tracking station coordinate values published in the past few years by a number of investigators, i.e. Goddard Space Flight Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Ohio State University, The Naval Weapons Laboratory, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, and Wallops Island. The comparisons have been made in terms of latitude, longitude and height. The results of the various solutions have been compared directly and also with external standards such as local survey data and gravimetrically derived geoid heights. After taking into account systematic rotations, latitude and longitude agreement on a global basis is generally 15 meters or better, on the North American Datum agreement is generally better than 10 meters. Allowing for scale differences (of the order of 2 ppm) radial agreement is generally of the order of 10 meters.
Over 31,000 precision reduced optical observations of GEOS-1 and 2 in 70 two-day orbital arcs were used at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in a dynamical solution to determine center-of-mass coordinates for 15 tracking stations on the European Datum. Comparisons with the results obtained at Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) give agreement of about 1.5 ppm for chord lengths. After considering a scale correction to the European Datum (ED) of 1950 to account for the absence of geoid heights at the time of its reduction, agreement to a few ppm between the CNES/GSFC and the ED chords is obtained. However, a small systematic difference between survey and satellite results remains for stations in southeastern France and Switzerland.
A combined analytical-numerical procedure for determining precise mean orbital elements is presented and applied to the orbits of GEOS-1 and GEOS-2. The precision of the mean semi-major axes of these orbits is a few tens of centimeters when optical flash data is used to determine two-day orbital arcs. Four-day Minitrack orbits give mean semi-major axes of a few meters precision. The mean orientation parameters are obtained to a precision of about 0.1 sec (about 3m) or better from the optical orbits. This precision is adequate for determinations of tidal parameters, particularly in the case of GEOS-2, where the tidal perturbation of the inclination is 10 sec.
A detailed gravimetric geoid of the United States, North Atlantic, and Eurasia, which was computed from a combination of satellite derived and surface gravity data, is presented. The precision of this detailed geoid is + or - 2 to + or - 3 m in the continents but may be in the range of 5 to 7 m in those areas where data is sparse. Comparisons of the detailed gravimetric geoid with results of Rapp, Fischer, and Rice for the United States, Bomford in Europe, and Heiskanen and Fischer in India are presented. Comparisons are also presented with geoid heights from satellite solutions for geocentric station coordinates in North America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
The objective of the program is to collect a set of homogeneous and well distributed precise laser and camera satellite observations for the purpose of dynamic and geometric geodesy. The data gathering portion of the experiment extended from December 15, 1970 to August 31, 1971 and consisted of seven three-week saturation tracking periods. The seven geodetic satellites tracked were BE-B, BE-C, GEOS-1, GEOS-2, DI-C, DI-D, and PEOLE. The techniques employed to generate acquisition data for the two lasers are described. Analyses of the quick-look Astrosoviet NAFA-25 camera data indicated that the accuracy of these data was on the order of a few minutes of arc. These data were useful in definitive orbit determination.
The proposed Morgantown public transportation system will use a fleet of computer-controlled vehicles operating on a separate dedicated network of roadways called a guideway. An automatic steering system on each vehicle will permit the traversal of the proposed route of various guideway sections. A preliminary study was made to analyze the steering control for the Morgantown vehicles. The primary requirement was to design an automatic steering system that would achieve a smooth ride and eliminate the need for excess margin in the guideway width. Front and rear wheel steering and front and rear sensing capabilities were assumed in the analysis. The system finally adopted front and rear wheel steering and front sensing was shown by computer simulation and vehicle steering experiments to be adequate.