Establishment of scale and orientation for satellite Doppler positions

Abstract

The scale of satellite Doppler results and the orientation of the coordinate system in which the results are obtained, relative to more conventional coordinate systems, need to be known for many applications. Sources of this information are comparisons with external standards. Comparisons indicate that Doppler positions obtained by the National Geodetic Survey of the National Ocean Survey (with the use of its standard program and the precise ephemeris) require a longitude rotation of 0.8 ± 0.05" eastward and a decrease in scale of 0.4 ± 0.1 parts/ 10 ⁶ to be compatible with results of other space systems. This rotation is compatible with results obtained by comparisons of astro-Doppler and gravimetric deflexions. To apply these results to those of other investigators, by using other reduction programs and techniques, will require intercomparison of programs with the use of standard data sets such as those used by Special Study Group 2.44 of the International Association of Geodesy.