Abstract

Several radio science applications require determination of the excess radio-propagation path delay caused by the earth's atmosphere. These include very long baseline interferometry, spacecraft tracking, and potentially detection of gravitational waves utilizing a link to a distant interplanetary spacecraft. At Ka band, the major source of variability of path delay is the fluctuations in the moisture content of the troposphere. The path-delay characterization requirements for a planned gravitational wave experiment are novel and challenging. The error contribution to the phase observations due to path delay variation must be reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude over that occurring naturally on time scales of 100 to 10,000 seconds. Current approaches relying on microwave water vapor radiometry with ancillary data can deliver one order of magnitude calibration of these fluctuations, and more advanced systems are under development within the 2001-2002 time frame of the Cassini mission to Saturn. The current work evaluates the potential for an alternative observational approach, using a ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer.

© 1995 Optical Society of America