HR: 1340h
AN: G33B-0051    [Abstracts]
TI: GOCE gradiometer validation by GPS
AU: * Visser, P
EM: Pieter.Visser@lr.tudelft.nl
AF: DEOS, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, Delft, 2629 HS Netherlands
AU: Bouman, J
EM: J.Bouman@sron.nl
AF: National Institute for Space Research (SRON), Sorbonnelaan 2, Utrecht, 3484 CA Netherlands
AU: Koop, R
EM: R.Koop@sron.nl
AF: National Institute for Space Research (SRON), Sorbonnelaan 2, Utrecht, 3484 CA Netherlands
AB: The upcoming European Space Agency (ESA) Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circular Explorer (GOCE) mission, foreseen to be launched in November 2006, will carry a highly sensitive gradiometer, consisting of 3 orthogonal pairs of ultra-sensitive accelerometers. A challenging calibration procedure has been developed to calibrate the gradiometer not only pre-launch by a series of on-ground tests, but also after launch by making use of on-board cold-gas thrusters to provoke a long series of gradiometer shaking events which will provide observations for its calibration. In addition, a number of methods has been designed and will be implemented that aim at validating the calibration of the gradiometer instruments. These methods are based on (1) upward continuation of high-precision ground-based gravity field data over certain geographical areas, (2) comparison with the best available global gravity field models, and (3) use of GPS Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking (SST observations. The focus of this presentation will be on the the third method. An assessment has been made of how well the gradiometer observations can be validated by the GPS observations by either detailed orbital analysis or by making use of a partial overlap in gravity field observability by the gradiometer and the SST observations.
DE: 1200 GEODESY AND GRAVITY
DE: 1294 Instruments and techniques
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005