Earth tidal amplitude and phase.

During the summer and autumn of 1970 a laser tracking system tracked the Beacon Explorer C spacecraft. The tracking system provided distance measurements to the satellite at a rate of one per second. The satellite is in a near circular orbit at an altitude of about 1000 km with an inclination to the equator of 41 deg. The amplitude and phase lag of the earth and ocean tides have been determined from the tidal perturbations of the satellite.