Citation
Abstract
This report discusses the creation of an automated pipeline to estimate the Earth Orientation Parameter (EOP) UT1-UTC from Very-Long Base Array (VLBA) multibaseline observing sessions within the Very-Long Baseline Interferometry Global Observing System (VGOS) database. UT1-UTC accounts for accumulated errors in the length of day and is necessary to build reference frames for deep space navigation, guidance, and communications. In this report, we describe the modernization of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) very-long baseline interferometry (VLBI) processing pipeline to use the open-source VGOS database [1]. The new pipeline built around the MODEST processor yields UT1-UTC estimates from VLBA multi-baseline observations comparable to published results from NASA’s Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) and single-baseline Time and Earth Motion Precision Observations (TEMPO). Detrended residuals from VLBA multi-baseline UT1-UTC have a root mean square (RMS) of 33.7 microseconds, while residuals from single-baseline TEMPO UT1-UTC have an RMS of 40 microseconds. The improvement of this pipeline, including refined tropospheric estimates, updated references frames, and precise station locations, is ongoing.
Details
- Volume
- 42-234
- Published
- August 15, 2023
- Pages
- 1–13
- File Size
- 904.2 KB