An analysis of the orbital inclination of the Beacon Explorer C spacecraft over a period of nearly five months in 1970 revealed a very clear and distinctive perturbation caused by the earth and ocean tides. The perturbation has a full amplitude of about 1.8 seconds of arc and a period of about 85 days. This amplitude is approximately 15% smaller than would be expected from the solid-earth tide alone and is shifted slightly in phase. The perturbation can be represented almost exactly by a Love number of k sub 2 = 0.245 with a phase lag of 3.2 degrees. The data used were laser range measurements obtained by a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center tracking system in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Author)
A Determination of the Earth Tidal Amplitude and Phase from the Orbital Perturbations of the Beacon Explorer C Spacecraft
1973
8 pages
Report
No indication
English
Tidal theory and orbital perturbations
NTRS | 1971
|Laser reflections from the Beacon Explorer satellites
NTRS | 1965
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