Browsing by Author "Paolozzi, A."
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Item An Addition to the Suite of Geodetic Satellites Supporting the ITRF: LARES-2(2022-12-27) Kuzmicz-Cieslak, M.; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Ciufolini, I.; Paolozzi, A.; Paris, C.Geodetic network infrastructure has evolved with increasing pace the past decade with remarkable additions of modern hardware, replacing aging, '80s vintage equipment throughout the globe. The Satellite Laser Ranging-SLR network is the slowest in making changes designed and planned more than a decade ago [Pearlman et al., 2019a]. This is in part due to the voluntary nature of establishing such installations and to a greater part the high cost and limited availability of the one-of-a-kind equipment. NASA, partners and international agencies, embarked on updates with standardization will help in the long term [Merkowitz et al., McGarry et al., Wilkinson, et al., 2019]. SLR needs more than updating the network to deliver the accuracy required today. New "targets" must also be used that support mm-accuracy. LAGEOS was conceived and built in the early '70s with a ~5 mm accuracy in mind [Pearlman et al., 2019b]. This limitation forced analysts to develop approaches of data analysis to ensure that even with such data one can reach the required 1-mm accuracy [Luceri et al., 2019]. Along with the network updates a parallel effort was thus initiated to modernize the space segment as well. Initially with the design and launch of LARES in 2012 [Pavlis et al., 2015] and following that, the design of LARES-2 [Ciufolini et al., 2017, Paolozzi et al., 2019], which was successfully launched on July 13, 2022 [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02034-x]. The new mm-accurate target was quickly acquired first by the Matera, Italy station only three days after launch and although very early in the mission, the data were of remarkably high quality and insignificant bias. This prompted a quick evaluation and a test inclusion of this target in the limited list of SLR targets supporting the ITRF development. With an orbit nearly identical to LAGEOS (with supplementary inclination), taking full advantage of all the appropriate models designed and applied to LAGEOS, we achieved 7-day orbital fits of 3-5 mm even without a tuned target signature correction! We will present an overview of the initial analysis of LARES-2 data focusing on comparing them to contemporaneously taken LAGEOS data, we will show results from our initial inclusion of LARES-2 in developing ILRS products for ITRF development and discuss the ILRS plans for its full integration. Ciufolini, Phys. Rev. Lett (1986) Ciufolini, Int. J. of Mod. Phys. A (1989) Pearlman et al., J Geod 93, 2161-2180 (2019a). https://doi.Item The Earth's frame-dragging via laser-ranged satellites: A Response to "Some considerations on the present-day results for the detection of frame-dragging after the final outcome of GP-B" by Iorio L.(IOP, 2011-10-24) Ries, J. C.; Ciufolini, I.; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Paolozzi, A.; Koenig, R.; Matzner, R. A.; Sindoni, G.; Neumayer, H.In this letter, we reply to the preceding paper by Iorio (EPL, 96 (2011) 30001 (this issue)), hereafter referred to as I2011, where we address criticisms regarding the Lense-Thirring frame-dragging experiment results obtained from the laser ranging to the two LAGEOS satellites.Item LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite): Status Report(Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, 2008-05-21) Boni, A.; Cantone, C.; Dell’Agnello, S.; Delle Monache, G. O.; Franceschi, M. A.; Garattini, M.; Intaglietta, N.; Lops, C.; Martini, M.; Maiello, M.; Prosperi, C.; Bellettini, G.; Tauraso, R.; March, R.; Ciufolini, I.; Berardi, S.; Cerruti, C.; Graziani, F.; Ialongo, P.; Lucantoni, A.; Paolozzi, A.; Peroni, I.; Paris, C.; Sindoni, G.; Vendittozzi, C.; Currie, D. G.; Arnold, D.; Rubincam, D. P.; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Matzner, R.; Slabinski, V. J.Item LARES: A NEW ASI MISSION TO IMPROVE THE MEASUREMENT OF LENSE-THIRRING EFFECT WITH SATELLITE LASER RANGINGPavlis, Erricos C.; Ciufolini, I.; Paolozzi, A.LARES, Laser Relativity Satellite, is a spherical laser-ranged satellite, passive and covered with retroreflectors. It will be launched with ESA’s new launch vehicle VEGA (ESA-ELV-ASI-AVIO) in early 2012. Its orbital elements will be: inclination 70◦ ± 1◦, semi-major axis 7830 km and near zero eccentricity. Its weight is about 387 kg and its radius 18.2 cm. It will be the single known most dense body orbiting Earth in the solar system, and the non-gravitational perturbations will be minimized by its very small ’cross-section-to-mass’ ratio. The main objective of the LARES satellite is a test of the frame-dragging effect, a consequence of the gravitomagnetic field predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. Together with the orbital data from LAGEOS and LAGEOS 2, it will allow a measurement of frame-dragging with an accuracy of a few percent.Item Laser geodetic satellites: a high-accuracy scientific tool(Springer Nature Switzerland AG., 2019-02-12) Pearlman, M.; Arnold, D.; Davis, M.; Barlier, F.; Biancale, R.; Vasiliev, V.; Ciufolini, I.; Paolozzi, A.; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Sośnica, K.; Bloßfeld, M.Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) began in the mid-1960s on satellites of opportunity with retro-reflectors intended as a part of intercomparison tests of satellite tracking techniques. Shortly thereafter, data from these satellites began to work their way into geodetic solutions and dedicated geodesy experiments. By early 1970s when future requirements for centimeter accuracy were envisioned, planning began for dedicated, spherical retro-reflector geodetic satellites. Built with high mass-to-area ratios, these satellites would have important applications in gravity field modeling, station geolocation and fiducial reference systems, Earth rotation, and fundamental physics. Early geodetic satellites were Starlette, launched in 1975 by Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and LAGEOS in 1976 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Recent geodetic satellites include LARES, launched in 2012, and LARES-2 under development, both by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Today, a complex of these ‘geodetic satellites’ from low to high altitude Earth orbits supports many space geodesy requirements. This paper will discuss the evolution of the geodetic satellites from the early days, through current programs and out to future needs as we approach our goal for millimeter accuracy.Item Monte Carlo simulations of the LARES space experiment to test General Relativity and fundamental physics(IOP, 2013-10-08) Ciufolini, I.; Monge, B Moreno; Paolozzi, A.; Koenig, R.; Sindoni, G.; Michalak, G.; Pavlis, Erricos C.The LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite) satellite was successfully launched in February 2012. The LARES space experiment is based on the orbital determinations of the laser ranged satellites LARES, LAGEOS (LAser GEOdynamics Satellite) and LAGEOS 2 together with the determination of the Earth's gravity field by the GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) mission. It will test some fundamental physics predictions and provide accurate measurements of the frame-dragging effect predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. By 100 Monte Carlo simulations of the LARES experiment, with simulations of the orbits of LARES, LAGEOS and LAGEOS 2 according to the latest GRACE gravity field determinations, we found that the systematic errors in the measurement of frame-dragging amount to about 1.4% of the general relativistic effect, confirming previous error analyses.Item Orbital predictions for the LARES satellite mission(IEEE, 2015-06-04) Sindoni, G.; Paolozzi, A.; Paris, C.; Ciufolini, I.LARES is an Italian Space Agency satellite specifically designed, built and launched to test general relativity. It is a passive satellite covered with Cube Corner Reflectors that reflect laser pulses from tracking stations, thus allowing accurate measurement of the distance. That in turn enables accurate orbit reconstruction that is a key ingredient to allow the measurement of the tiny Lense-Thirring effect predicted by general relativity. The International Space Time Analysis Research Center provides the International Laser Ranging Service-ILRS, the orbital predictions for LARES for pointing of the tracking telescopes toward the target. The paper describes the technical aspects of generating the orbital predictions.Item Quality assessment of LARES satellite ranging data(IEEE\, 2015-06-05) Pavlis, Erricos C.; Paolozzi, A.; Paris, C.; Ciufolini, I.; Sindoni, G.LARES is an Italian Space Agency mission designed to test General Relativity in the weak field of Earth. In particular, the satellite will be able to measure frame-dragging with an accuracy of about 1%. The difficulty of the measurement is mainly due to the perturbations acting on the satellite and the relatively tiny size of the effect, amounting to about 118 milliarcseconds/year. LARES will also provide data to geodesists and it will contribute to GNSS by improving the origin definition of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. The mission was designed and the satellite subsystems built and tested in less than four years. The short time to launch and the very limited budget of the LARES mission, raised doubts whether LARES could be, as expected by design, one of the best satellite laser ranging targets. The best way to confirm the success of the mission is to look at the range residuals from the primary stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). In the paper it will be shown that from the majority of these stations LARES behaves as the best target.Item Studies on the materials of LARES 2 satellite(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2019-11-16) Paolozzi, A.; Sindoni, G.; Felli, F.; Pilone, D.; Brotzu, A.; Ciufolini, I.; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Paris, C.LARES 2 is an Italian Space Agency (ASI) satellite designed for testing with unprecedented accuracy frame-dragging, a fundamental prediction of General Relativity, and to contribute to space geodesy with a precision higher than any other satellite presently in orbit. The choice of the material for the body of LARES 2 satellite determines, along with its dimensions, the surface-to-mass ratio minimization which is the main requirement for the satellite. The paper will report the studies conducted for the fulfilment of the above mentioned requirement and the tests performed to qualify the materials for construction of the the satellite.