Citation
Abstract
A comprehensive search has been made in order to identify celestial radio sources that can be used as references for navigation of the Galileo spacecraft by means of AVLBI observations. The astronomical literature has been searched for potential navigation sources, and several VLBI experiments have been performed to determine the suitability of those sources for navigation. This article reports on the results of such work performed since mid-1983. We present a summary of the source properties required, the procedures used to identify candidate sources, and the results of the observations of these sources. The lists of sources presented are not meant to be taken directly and used for AVLBI navigation, but they do provide a means of identifying the radio sources that could be used at various positions along the Galileo trajectory. Since the reference sources nearest the critical points of Jupiter encounter and probe release are rather weak, it would be extremely beneficial to use a pair of 70-m antennas for the AVLBI measurements.
Details
- Volume
- 42-84
- Published
- February 15, 1986
- Pages
- 152–163
- File Size
- 849.3 KB