Chang'E-1 precision orbit determination and lunar gravity field solution

Yan, Jianguo; Ping, Jing; Huang, Qian; Cao, Jian

doi:10.1109/apcc.2009.5375594

Cited by 11 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The Chinese lunar exploration programs Chang'E-1 and Chang'E-2 combine VLBI and USB techniques for lunar capture and mission orbit insertion. The combined POD accuracy, especially the short-arc POD accuracy, is much better than the accuracy achieved with the USB alone, demonstrating VLBI real-time deep-space navigation applications for the first time [8].…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…VLBI is a useful supplement to usual radio ranging and velocity measurement techniques because VLBI has an extremely high angular resolution (on the order of submilliseconds of arc) and strongly constrains orbital errors in the transverse direction perpendicular to the line-of-sight, while the ranging observations are able to provide constraints in and around the line-of-sight direction; a joint orbit determination using both types of data is thus expected to yield improved results [8]. VLBI eliminates the need for uplink transmission and only receives satellite downlink signals.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unified S-band (USB) ranging and the Doppler technique are usually used for GEO satellite tracking and control, with the accuracy of USB ranging data being several meters and the accuracy of Doppler data being several centimeters per second, leading to orbit determination accuracy of a few hundred meters [7,8]. More accurate measurement techniques are needed for satellite navigation systems such as COMPASS, most of which are high-precision ranging measurement techniques such as pseudo-ranging and carrierphase positioning, two-way ranging via onboard transponders and satellite laser ranging (SLR).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VLBI eliminates the need for uplink transmission and only receives satellite downlink signals. Weak downlink signals from very far away may be picked up with large antennas, and the VLBI technique is thus mainly applied in lunar and deep-space exploration [8,[12][13][14]. The Chinese lunar exploration programs Chang'E-1 and Chang'E-2 combine VLBI and USB techniques for lunar capture and mission orbit insertion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Improvement of orbit determination for geostationary satellites with VLBI tracking

Huang

Zhang

et al. 2011

Chin. Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

China's COMPASS satellite navigation system consists of five or more geostationary (GEO) satellites. The roles of GEO satellites are to improve the regional user's positioning accuracy and provide the continuous Radio Determination Satellite Service. The motion of GEO satellites relative to a ground tracking station is almost fixed, and regular orbit maneuvers are necessary to maintain the satellites' allocated positions above the equator. These features present difficulties in precise orbit determination (POD). C-band ranging via onboard transponders and the L-band pseudo-ranging technique have been used in the COMPASS system. This paper introduces VLBI tracking, which has been successfully employed in the Chinese lunar exploration programs Chang'E-1 and Chang'E-2, to the POD of GEO satellites. In contrast to ranging, which measures distances between a GEO satellite and an observer, VLBI is an angular measurement technique that constrains the satellite's position errors perpendicular to the satellite-to-observer direction. As a demonstration, the Chinese VLBI Network organized a tracking and orbit-determination experiment for a GEO navigation satellite lasting 24 h. This paper uses the VLBI delay and delay-rate data, in combination with C-band ranging data, to determine the GEO satellite's orbit. The accuracies of the VLBI delay and delay rate data are about 3.6 ns and 0.4 ps/s, respectively. Data analysis shows that the VLBI data are able to calibrate systematic errors of the C-band ranging data, and the combination of the two observations improves orbit prediction accuracy with short-arc data, which is important for orbital recovery after maneuvers of GEO satellites. With the implementation of VLBI2010, it is possible for VLBI to be applied in the COMPASS satellite navigation system. geostationary satellites, very long baseline interferometry, orbit determination Citation:Huang Y, Hu X G, Zhang X Z, et al. Improvement of orbit determination for geostationary satellites with VLBI tracking.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Improvement of orbit determination for geostationary satellites with VLBI tracking

Huang

Zhang

et al. 2011

Chin. Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Various differenced data can be obtained from making the difference of the ranges between master station to master station and master station to each slave station via satellite transponder. Obviously, the principle of this observation is the same as VLBI [5][6][7]. depends on the precision of coordinate of the stations; the precision of coordinate of the stations is 5 mm, while the corresponding precision of baselines is better than 1 cm.…”

Section: Principle Of Differenced Ranges Between Master Station and Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite orbit determination by transfer with differenced ranges

Yang

Chen

et al. 2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The original idea of orbit determination called "determination of satellite orbit by transfer" was proposed by the National Time Service Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It shows that the system is very stable and the orbit determination accuracy is improved greatly. A new observation mode called "differenced ranges between master station and slave stations by transfer" is introduced. It is the development of "determination of satellite orbit by transfer". In principle, the differenced ranges between master station and slave stations have a high angular resolution, and strongly constrains in the transverse direction of satellite orbit, perpendicular to the line-of-sight. The principle of "differenced ranges between master station and slave stations by transfer" is discussed in detail. And differenced ranges in combination with ranging data were used to determine satellite's orbit and orbit prediction under different arc observations. It shows that orbit determination accuracy for orbit prediction can be improved with differenced ranges in combination with ranging data. The developing Chinese area positioning system (CAPS) is a regional satellite navigation system. Its space segment consists of some geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites and 2-3 inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites [1,2]. The orbit determination of GEO satellites and IGSO satellites with high precision and accuracy is a key to construct such a satellite positioning system. As a conventional satellite tracking technique, united S-band ranging (USB) system generally attains orbit determination accuracy of hundred-meter-level with ranging biases of 3-5 m. But a meter-level accuracy of precise orbit determination (POD) is required for the navigation system. The orbital period of the GEO matches the period of the Earth's rotation, so the relative motion of GEO satellites to the ground is smaller. The usual techniques of orbit determination are not able to obtain the precise orbit of the GEO satellites. Although the ranging accuracy for laser ranging satellite (LRS) is very high, about 1 cm, but the observations are limited by a weather condition, if the ranging stations are in the area of China, and the coverage of observation for the GEO is limited. It is not suitable for regular observations of orbit determination of GEO satellites [3,4]. Obviously, it is demanded to develop a new kind of tracking techniques.The two-way satellite time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT) is a technique of time transfer with high accuracy. Based on high accuracy of TWSTFT technique, an original method for accuracy and precise determination of pseudo range, called "orbit determination by transfer" was proposed by the National Time Service Center, the Chinese Academy of Sciences [3]. The principle for "determination of satellite orbit by transfer" is that precise time signals from atomic clocks of ground stations modeled with different pseudo-noise code sequence are disseminated with the same carrier frequencies. The time signals are transferred via satel...

show abstract

The Chang’E-1 orbiter plays a distinctive role in China’s first successful selenodetic lunar mission

Ping

Huang

et al. 2011

Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The first Chinese lunar orbiter Chang'E-1 is a successful mission with many fruitful results obtained in various disciplines. The scientific data acquired by the Chang'E-1 payloads can benefit studies of the lunar origin and evolution, as well as other relevant research areas, after careful validation of the data. Among the new results, the Chang'E-1 selenodetic products are continually uncovering characteristics of the lunar surface, undersurface and inner structure. Successful lunar orbiters such as the Clementine, Lunar Prospector, KAGUYA/SELENE, Chang'E-1, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and GRAIL have been revealing, with increasing clarity, global selenodetic characteristics with state-of-the-art fine resolution and high precision. In particular, the Chang'E-1 plays an important distinctive role in selenodetic exploration through enhancing lunar topography and gravity models. The gravity model has been successfully improved with a factor of two after applying the Chang'E-1 long-wavelength tracking data. Using the new models, some medium-scale lunar surface characteristics such as basins and volcanoes have been identified. Furthermore, the old mascon basins of Bouguer, gravity anomaly and craters have been discovered with the Chang'E-1 selenodetic data.Chang'E-1, lunar orbiter, lunar science, selenodesy, topography, gravity PACS: 91.10.Fc, 95.40.+s, 96.12.Bc, 96.12.Qr, 95.10.Eg, 95.75.De

show abstract

Chang'E-1 precision orbit determination and lunar gravity field solution

Cited by 11 publications

References 4 publications

Improvement of orbit determination for geostationary satellites with VLBI tracking

Improvement of orbit determination for geostationary satellites with VLBI tracking

Satellite orbit determination by transfer with differenced ranges

The Chang’E-1 orbiter plays a distinctive role in China’s first successful selenodetic lunar mission

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About