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Geocentric Terrestrial Reference Frame Accuracy: DSN Spacecraft Tracking and VLBI/Lunar Laser Ranging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2017

A. E. Niell
A. E. Niell*
Affiliation:
Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA 01886

Abstract

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From a combination of 1) the location of McDonald Observatory from Lunar Laser Ranging, 2) relative station locations obtained from Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements, and 3) a short tie by traditional geodesy, the geocentric coordinates of the 64 m antennas of the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network are obtained with an orientation which is related to the planetary ephemerides and to the celestial radio reference frame. Comparison with the geocentric positions of the same antennas obtained from tracking of interplanetary spacecraft shows that the two methods agree to 20 cm in distance off the spin axis and in relative longitude. The orientation difference of a 1 meter rotation about the spin axis is consistent with the error introduced into the tracking station locations due to an error in the ephemeris of Jupiter.

Type
II. Terrestrial Reference Systems
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 128: Earth's Rotation and Reference Frames for Geodesy and Geodynamics , 1988 , pp. 115 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1988 

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