Citation
Abstract
Tracking of interplanetary spacecraft equipped with optical communications systems by using astrometric instruments is being investigated by JPL. Existing instruments are designed to work at night and, for bright sources, are limited by tropospheric errors. To provide full coverage of the solar system, astrometric tracking instruments must either be capable of daytime operation or be space-based. The integration times necessary for the ground-based daytime photon statistical errors to reach a given accuracy level (5 to 50 nanoradians) have been computed for an ideal astrometric instrument. The required photon statistical integration times are found to be shorter than the tropospheric integration times for the ideal detector. Since the astrometric accuracy need not be limited by photon statistics even under daytime conditions, it may be fruitful to investigate instruments for daytime optical tracking.
Details
- Volume
- 42-99
- Published
- November 15, 1989
- Pages
- 90–97
- File Size
- 395.0 KB