Verification and Optimization of the Physics Parameters of the Onboard Galileo Passive Hydrogen Maser

Abstract

Atomic clocks represent critical equipment for a satellite navigation system. A Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM), with its excellent frequency stability performance, has been chosen as the master clock in the Galileo navigation satellite payload, and will be the first one of its type ever to fly. Temex Neuchatel Time is responsible for the industrialization of the Physics Package (PP) of the PHM and has been developing numbers for the PP, including Engineering Qualification, Qualification, Proto-Flight, and Flight Models in the frame of the Galileo Satellite Test Bed (GSTB-V2) and the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase. This paper provides the verification results of PHM physics parameters, according to the measurement data and the theoretical analysis, for all the PPs produced up to now. A theoretical PHM physics model has been developed to extract inherent physics parameters (such as oscillation parameter, saturation factor, natural line width, various relaxation rates, and useful atomic flux) which cannot be measured directly, but are of great importance in order to evaluate the instrument performance.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA474306

Entities

People

  • Fabien Droz
  • Giovanni Busca
  • Pascal Rochat
  • Pierre Mosset
  • Qinghua Wang

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Amplifiers
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Assembly
  • Atomic Beam Masers
  • Engineering
  • Frequency
  • Hydrogen
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Masers
  • Measurement
  • Microwave Amplifiers
  • Optimization
  • Oscillation
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Time Intervals
  • Verification

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Software Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Space