Citation
Abstract
During the period between February 16 and April 11, 1973, three passes of simultaneous two-way and three-way doppler from Pioneers 10 and 11 were obtained from DSSs 11, 12, and 14 at the Goldstone complex. The residuals of the differenced doppler (quasi-very long baseline interferometry—OQVLBI) which are free from process noises and effects of transmission media provide a good way to check the stabilities of the tracking system using new rubidium standards (HP 5065) for twostation tracking demonstrations. Results indicate that the short-term (minute) and medium-term (hour) stabilities agree with expected values (specifications) of about 7 and 3 parts in 10'°, respectively. The long-term (month) stability, which is computed from the last two passes of data, exceeds the limited level (Af/f < 10-2) required for two-station tracking demonstrations. There are not enough data for a conclusive statement about whether the current system is capable of supporting two-station tracking demonstrations. Further investigation with more data is proposed.
Details
- Volume
- XVIII
- Published
- December 15, 1973
- Pages
- 47–56
- File Size
- 816.5 KB