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A Geopause satellite system concept.The Geopause satellite system concept offers promising approaches in connection with four different problem areas. A typical Geopause satellite orbit has a 14-hour period, a mean height of about 4.6 earth radii, and is nearly circular, polar, and normal to the ecliptic. At this height only a relatively few gravity terms have uncertainties corresponding to orbital perturbations above the decimeter level. The Geopause satellite system also provides the tracking geometery and coverage needed for determining the orbit, the tracking system biases, and the station locations. Studies indicate that the Geopause satellite, tracked with a 2-cm ranging system from nine NASA affiliated sites, can yield decimeter station location accuracies. Five or more fundamental stations well distributed in longitude can view Geopause over the North Pole. This means not only that redundant data are available for determining tracking system biases, but also that both components of the polar motion can be observed frequently. When tracking Geopause, the NASA sites become a two-hemisphere configuration which is ideal for a number of earth physics applications such as the observation of the polar motion with a time resolution of a fraction of a day.
Document ID
19730040515
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Siry, J. W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Md., United States)
Date Acquired
August 7, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1973
Publication Information
Publication: Space Science Reviews
Volume: 14
Subject Category
Space Vehicles
Accession Number
73A25317
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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