Laser back scatter: Limitation to higher repetition rate [kHz] Satellite Laser Ranging system

1  J, 0.5  kHz repetition rate picosecond laser.

We report the demonstration of a diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser that produces λ=1.03  μm pulses of up to 1.5 J energy compressible to sub-5 ps duration at a repetition rate of 500 Hz (750 W average power). Amplification to high energy takes place in cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG active mirrors designed for kilowatt average power laser operation. This compact laser system wi...

Ranging performance of satellite laser altimeters

Topographic mapping of the earth, moon and planets can be accomplished with high resolution and accuracy using satellite laser altimeters. These systems employ nanosecond laser pulses and microradian beam divergences to achieve submeter vertical range resolution from orbital altitudes of several hundred kilometers. In this paper we develop detailed expressions for the range and pulse width meas...

Satellite Laser Ranging and General Relativity

Satellite Laser Ranging and General Relativity

GNSS Satellite Orbit Validation Using Satellite Laser Ranging

With a total of four new regional and global navigation satellite systems that have launched first satellites or even started an operational service, the GNSS landscape has experienced major changes in recent years. As part of the Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) of the International GNSS Service (IGS), a global network of multi-GNSS monitoring stations has been established and various analysis cen...