U. S. NAVY DOPPLER TRACKING SYSTEM TRANET.
Abstract
The TRANET satellite tracking network of radar receiving stations and other facilities acquires and processes doppler-frequency shift data from the signals of suitably equipped near-earth satellites. A small man-portable station, currently under development, will ultimately replace the van-mounted stations. The system is capable of handling 40 to 50 passes per station per day or between 480 and 600 passes per day for the basic network of earth stations. As many as ten satellites can be handled by full-time operation of the network and still maintain maximum accuracy. Data attrition from all causes is below 10 percent. The APL Time-and-Frequency Laboratory generates signals that are used by the TRANET stations to ensure the accuracy of their time and frequency standards. The TRANET Control Center serves as the hub of the TRANET network. It receives data from the stations and advises the stations on the status of the satellites and of their performance. Data from the Control Center are reduced by the APL Computing Center and by the Naval Weapons Laboratory. TRANET provides high-density high-accuracy data for a large number of satellites in a form ready for the computing process. Currently TRANET measures doppler frequency with an accuracy of one part in 10 to the 11th power and satellite position with an accuracy of 10 meters. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0646904
Entities
People
- C. A. Dunnell
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory