This work describes the instrumental status, performance and result of the satellite laser rangefinder at the Metsaehovi Space Geodetic Station of the Finnish Geodetic Institute at the end of 1981. The system has been in operation since September 1978 and has so far produced about 6000 range observations to various satellites. In the transmitter an electro-optically Q-switched ruby laser with a peak power of about 50 MW, pulse length of 25 ns, energy of 1 J, collimated beam divergence of about 1 mrad and repetition rate of 4 pulses per minute is used. The return energy is collected using a 630 mm diameter telescope, detected with a sensitive RCA C 31034 photomultiplier in night operation and with an RCA 8852 photomultiplier in daylight, filtered and used to stop a high resolution 0,1 ns time interval counter. In the start and stop channels approximated matched filtering is used. The duration and shape of the impulse response of the detection electronics are set approximately equal to those of the laser pulse using low-pass amplifier stages. Timing is done at the 50 % peak level. This filtering method proved to be especially effective in daylight ranging.
Studies on the Metsaehovi satellite laser ranging system
Untersuchungen zu dem Metsaehovi Satellitenentfernungsmesssystem mit Laser
Din. TU Helsinki ; 503 ; 1-47
1982
47 Seiten, 60 Bilder, 6 Tabellen, 127 Quellen
Theses
English
Satellite Laser Ranging Operations
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