BackForwardInstrument:  LTI 

Instrument details
Acronym LTI
Full name Laser Tracking Instrument
Purpose Space geodesy - Precision orbitography
Short description Assemblage of 4 corner cube reflectors with laser at 1064 nm wavelength to point a beam to the other satellite in pair.
Background Development of LRR on GRACE-FO
Scanning Technique N/A
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle N/A
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 2028 to 2040
Last update: 2023-10-30
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Other payload component
  • Positioning system
WIGOS Subcomponents No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
No mission objectives have been defined.
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Crustal motion (horizontal and vertical)3 - highGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser retroreflectors used for precise orbitography
Crustal plates positioning3 - highGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser reflectors used for precise orbitography
Geoid4 - fairGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser reflector array used for precise orbit determination
Gravity field3 - highPartial information (geoid).Opportunity information from laser reflector array used for precise orbit determination