On orbit performance of the GRACE Follow-On Laser Ranging Interferometer

Abstract

The Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI) instrument on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-On mission has provided the first laser interferometric range measurements between remote spacecraft, separated by approximately 220 km. Autonomous controls that lock the laser frequency to a cavity reference and establish the 5 degree of freedom two-way laser link between remote spacecraft succeeded on the first attempt. Active beam pointing based on differential wavefront sensing compensates spacecraft attitude fluctuations. The LRI has operated continuously without breaks in phase tracking for more than 50 days, and has shown biased range measurements similar to the primary ranging instrument based on microwaves, but with much less noise at a level of $1\mathrm{nm}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ at Fourier frequencies above 100 mHz.

Cited by in corpus (35)

• The First Round Result from the TianQin-1 Satellite
• Quantum-limited optical time transfer for future geosynchronous links
• Gravity Field Mapping Using Laser Coupled Quantum Accelerometers in Space
• Non-geometric tilt-to-length coupling in precision interferometry: mechanisms and analytical descriptions
• Transient acceleration events in LISA Pathfinder data: properties and possible physical origin
• Effect of Earth-Moon's gravity on TianQin's range acceleration noise
• Analysis of GRACE Follow-On Laser Ranging Interferometer derived inter-satellite pointing angles
• Investigation and mitigation of noise contributions in a compact heterodyne interferometer
• Detecting Ultralight Dark Matter Gravitationally with Laser Interferometers in Space
• The influence of laser relative intensity noise in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
• Scale Factor Determination for the GRACE-Follow On Laser Ranging Interferometer including Thermal Coupling
• Analysis of performance and robustness against jitter of various search methods for acquiring optical links in space
• Effect of Earth-Moon's gravity on TianQin's range acceleration noise. II. Impact of orbit selection
• $2\cdot 10^{-13}$ fractional laser frequency stability with a 7-cm unequal-arm Mach-Zehnder interferometer
• Benefit of enhanced electrostatic and optical accelerometry for future gravimetry missions
• Quantum noise and its evasion in feedback oscillators
• On-axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in future gravity missions
• SILVIA: Ultra-precision formation flying demonstration for space-based interferometry
• Disturbances from Single Event Upsets in the GRACE Follow-On Laser Ranging Interferometer
• A Realistic Roadmap to Formation Flying Space Interferometry
• Mirror Coating Thermal Noise Mitigation Using Multi-Spatial Mode Cavity Readout
• Geometric tilt-to-length coupling in precision interferometry: mechanisms and analytical descriptions
• Towards a realistic noise modelling of quantum sensors for future satellite gravity missions
• What to expect from scalar-tensor space geodesy
• Potentials for general-relativistic geodesy
• Characterization of non-planar ring oscillators at a wavelength of 1064 nm for high precision metrology
• Cavity locking with spatial modulation of optical phase front for laser stabilization
• Demonstration of $3.5\times 10^{-13}$ laser frequency stability at 1000 s using an iodine-filled hollow-core fiber photonic microcell
• Hybrid electrostatic-atomic accelerometer for future space gravity missions
• Parameter Estimation Precision with Geocentric Gravitational Wave Interferometers: Monochromatic Signals
• Initial acquisition requirements for optical cavities in the space gravitational wave antennae DECIGO and B-DECIGO
• The science case and challenges of space-borne sub-millimeter interferometry
• Experimental Demonstration of an On-Axis Laser Ranging Interferometer for Future Gravity Missions
• Detection of Earth's free oscillations utilizing TianQin
• Searching systematically for coupling of laser and phase-modulation noise in heterodyne interferometry