Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1768060 Advances in Space Research 2009 6 Pages PDF
Abstract
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is a powerful and efficient technique to measure spin parameters of satellites equipped with corner cube reflectors. We obtained spin period determination of the satellite AJISAI from SLR data only: 17246 pass-by-pass estimates from standard 1-15 Hz SLR data (14/Aug/1986-30/Dec/2008) and 1444 pass-by-pass estimates (9/Oct/2003-30/Dec/2008) from data of the first 2 kHz SLR system from Graz, Austria. A continuous history of the slowing down of AJISAI spin is derived from frequency analysis, and corrected for the apparent effects. The apparent corrections, elaborated here, allowed very accurate determination of AJISAI initial spin period: 1.4855 ± 0.0007 [s]. The paper identifies also non-gravitational effects as a source of the periodical changes in the rate of slowing down of the satellite.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Space and Planetary Science
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