Satellite Geodesy

Mehad Hagag
5/17/2013












GRAVI TY FI ELD MI SSI ONS
GRAVI TY FI ELD MI SSI ONS
IMPORTANCE OF GRAVITY MODELS:
Geodesy:
Global vertical datum, height determination with GPS, ice and land vertical
movements.
Geophysics:
Investigation of the structure and dynamics of the solid Earth from the core
along the mantle to the crust, and investigation of interactions with the ocean and
atmosphere.
Oceanography:
More accurate monitoring of ocean circulation, global sea level changes, and
short-term changes in the global water balance as well as interactions with weather
and climate.
Three fundamental criteria have to be fulfilled in the gravity satellite:
o Orbit altitude as low as possible (200 to 500 km).
o Uninterrupted tracking over large orbital arcs in 3 spatial dimensions.
o Discrimination between gravitational and non-gravitational forces acting on the
satellite.
Satellite techniques of gravity field measurement:
1. Satellite-to-satellite tracking (range and range-rate measurements between
satellites).
2. Satellite gravity gradiometry (measurement of gravity differences within the
satellite).
1. SATELLITE- TO- SATELLITE TRACKING:
a) Satellite-to-satellite tracking in the high-low mode (SST-HL, Fig. 1 (a))
means that a LEO spacecraft is tracked by high orbiting satellites like GPS,
GLONASS or GALILEO, relative to a network of ground stations. The non-
gravitational forces acting on the low orbiter are measured by accelerometers. The
LEO is a probe in the Earths gravity field which can be precisely tracked without
interruption. The observed 3-D accelerations correspond to gravity accelerations.
b) Satellite-to-satellite tracking in the low-low mode (SST-LL, Fig.1 (b))
means that two LEO satellites are placed in the same low orbit, separated by
several hundred kilometers, and that the range D between both spacecrafts is
measured by an inter-satellite link with the highest possible accuracy. Again, the
effect of non-gravitational forces acting on the two LEOs can either be measured
or compensated. In essence, the acceleration difference between the two LEOs is
measured. The LL-configuration can be combined with the HL-concept. One
advantage over the pure HL-technique is that differencing of observables provides
a much higher sensitivity.
2. SATELLITE GRAVITY GRADIOMETRY:
Satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG, Fig. 1(c)) means that acceleration
differences are measured directly in the satellite. Since the spacecraft is in free fall,
the accelerations have to be measured away from the satellites center of mass,
ideally in all three dimensions. One important advantage, compared with the SST
technique, is that non-gravitational accelerations are the same for all
measurements inside the spacecraft and hence vanish by differencing.

Fig. 1 (a) SST_HL, (b) SST_LL, and (c) SGG
In the first case (SST-HL), the first derivatives of the gravitational potential are
measured, and in the second case (SST-LL) the difference of the first derivatives over
a long baseline. In the third case (SGG) the second derivatives are determined. In
short, the methods can be characterized as:
SST-HL measurement of accelerations of one LEO,
SST-LL measurement of acceleration differences between two LEOs,
SGG in situ measurement of acceleration gradients within one LEO.
HIGH-LOW MODE, CHAMP
The CHAllenging Mini-satellite Payload for geophysical research and application (CHAMP) was
launched under the scientific responsibility of the GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ),
Potsdam, Germany, on July 15, 2000.
Orbit:
An almost circular near polar orbit of about 450 km altitude and an inclination of
about 87.3 degrees.
Due to atmospheric drag, the altitude will decrease over the mission time to about
300 km or less. This change in altitude is intentional and makes the satellite sensitive
to a broad variety of coefficients.
Spacecraft:
The design lifetime of the
satellite is 5 years. The
spacecraft (Fig. 3) only
weighs 500 kg.
The main scientific goals
of the mission are:
Mapping of the global gravity
field.
Mapping of the global
magnetic field.
profiling of the ionosphere and
troposphere.
To achieve these goals the satellite carries the following scientific
instruments:
1. A space-borne 16 channel dual-frequency GPS receiver connected to a
multiple antenna system.
2. A three-axis accelerometer.
3. A laser-retro reflector (LRR).
4. A magnetometer.
5. A digital ion drift meter.

1. A space-borne 16 channel dual-frequency GPS receiver connected to a multiple antenna
system. The low orbiting CHAMP satellite is a sensor in free fall in Earths
gravity field. The gravitational orbit perturbations are continuously monitored
with respect to the high orbiting GPS satellites, using precise GPS orbits based
on a worldwide tracking network. The concept of differential GPS can be
applied and provides position and velocity information for the CHAMP
spacecraft with an accuracy of a few centimeters.

2. A three-axis accelerometer (at the spacecrafts center of mass) to measure the non-
gravitational accelerations acting on the spacecraft.

3. A laser-retro reflector (LRR) for backup tracking from the ground.

4. A magnetometer together with a star sensor (controls satellite orientation)
measure the Earth's magnetic field.

LOW-LOW MODE, GRACE
GRACE is a joint project between NASA and the German Space Agency, DLR.
The name stands for Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. Besides the high
resolution precise mapping of Earths gravity field, the secondary science objective of
GRACE is limb sounding for the determination of tropospheric and ionospheric
parameters.
Fig. 2 Challenging Mini-Satellite, CHAMP; courtesy
GFZ
Two identical satellites were
launched on March 17, 2002, into a
near-polar orbit of about 500 km
altitude with an inclination of 89. In
the nominal configuration the satellites
fly in-echelon, 220 km apart, within
50 km.
Orbit maneuvers are necessary
every one or two months in order to
maintain the separation between the
two spacecraft. The design lifetime of
the mission is 5 years.
Each satellite is about 3m long, weighs about 480 kg, and carries the following
scientific instruments:
1. Ultra-stable oscillator (USO).
2. GPS receiver.
3. Accelerometer (Super STAR).
4. K-band ranging system (KBR).
5. Star cameras.
6. Laser retro reflectors (LRR).

The GPS receivers can track up to 10 satellites and provide navigation data as
well as range and range-rate in the high-low mode. As with CHAMP, the STAR
accelerometer is required to separate gravitational and non-gravitational disturbances.
The sensor unit consists of a metallic proof mass inside an electrode cage. In order to
make precise measurements of the non-gravitational accelerations, the proof mass
must be located within 0.1 mm of the center of gravity of the spacecraft. The LRR
array is used for precise absolute orbit determination, and the star cameras are
required for precise pointing of the satellites towards one another.
The key instrument is the K-Band Ranging System (KBR). Each satellite
transmits carrier phase signals to the other satellite at two frequencies (24 and 32
GHz), allowing for ionospheric corrections. Two one-way ranges between both
satellites are obtained, each by comparing the on-board generated phase with the
received phase. Both phases are generated by the same ultra-stable oscillator.
In essence, the twin GRACE satellites can be considered as one instrument in
which
Variations in the gravity field cause variations in the range between the two
satellites; areas of stronger gravity will affect the lead satellite first and accelerate it
away from the following satellite,
Range variations are measured by a high-accuracy microwave link; the
relationship to the global reference frame is given by GPS, and
Fig. 3 GRACE MISSION
The observed range variations are corrected for non-gravitational effects by
a precise accelerometer.
GOCE MISSION
GOCE mission was launched in 2006. GOCE stands for Gravity Field and
Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer and forms part of the ESA Earth Explorer program.
The mission is based on a sensor fusion technique, namely a combination of
very precise orbit determination using GPS high-low SST, and satellite gravity
gradiometry (SGG).
GOCE flies in a nearly circular near polar sun-synchronous orbit of about 97
inclination and an altitude of 240250 km. The satellite will have a launch mass of
about 1000 kg and a small cross section of about 0.9 m
2
. It will be totally symmetrical
to minimize the influences of non-gravitational surface forces.
The two core instruments of GOCE are
1. A GNSS (GPS/GLONASS) receiver, and
2. A gravity gradiometer.
The GNSS receiver will play twin roles. It will be used for precise orbit
determination (location of the gravity gradiometer) at the 1 cm level, and for an
analysis of the long and medium wavelength features of the gravity field by the SST-
HL technique.
The gravity gradiometer consists of three pairs of highly sensitive
accelerometers, located in the close vicinity of the satellites center of mass.
Observables are differences of accelerations over a short baseline of about 50 cm. The
six three-axis accelerometers are mounted in a so-called diamond configuration.