Simultaneous dual baseline differential VLBI

Attention is drawn to the benefits of simultaneous dual baseline radio interferometric measurements for low altitude planetary orbiter navigation. The radio interferometric data types constitute a valuable addition to conventional tracking data in the establishment of orbit-plane orientation, thanks to their measurement of inertial reference cross-track velocity. The present results show that only a few Delta-VLBI measurements, taken at either end of a conventional tracking arc, suffice for the realization of a positional accuracy of better than 1 km for the case of a Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar-type planetary orbiter. This is comparable to Deep Space Net accuracies, despite the use of a shorter baseline.