Test environments for the GRACE follow-on laser ranging interferometer

In the year 2017 a follow-on mission to the very successful joint German US mission GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) will be launched. As of this day the two GRACE satellites have successfully been mapping the spatial and temporal varitations of the gravitational field of the Earth by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. Conference series 2016-05, Vol.716 (1), p.12011
Main Authors: Görth, A, Sanjuan, J, Gohlke, M, Rasch, S, Abich, K, Braxmaier, C, Heinzel, G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
GRACE (experiment)
Gravitational fields
Interferometers
Laser ranging
Physics
Satellite tracking
Satellite-to-satellite tracking
Satellites
Technology demonstrator
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Summary:In the year 2017 a follow-on mission to the very successful joint German US mission GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) will be launched. As of this day the two GRACE satellites have successfully been mapping the spatial and temporal varitations of the gravitational field of the Earth by satellite-to-satellite tracking for over a decade. The main science instrument on GRACE and its successor mission GRACE Follow-On which is used to measure the inter-satellite distance changes is a microwave link sensor. However, an additional instrument, the laser ranging interferometer (LRI), will be implemented into the architecture of the GRACE Follow-On satellites as a technology demonstrator. In this paper we will give a brief overview of a fiber-based test environment which is currently used during the assembly, integration and test of the LRI flight hardware.
ISSN:1742-6588
1742-6596
DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/716/1/012011