A Novel Laser Ranging System for Measurement of Ground-to-satellite DistancesA technique was developed for improving the precision of laser ranging measurements of ground-to-satellite distances. The method employs a mode-locked laser transmitter and utilizes an image converter tube equipped with deflection plates in measuring the time of flight of the laser pulse to a distant retroreflector and back. Samples of the outgoing and returning light pulses are focussed on the photocathode of the image converter tube, whose deflection plates are driven by a high-voltage 120 MHz sine wave derived from a very stable oscillator. From the relative positions of the images produced at the output phosphor by the two light pulses, it is possible to make a precise determination of the fractional amount by which the time of flight exceeds some large integral multiple of the period of the deflection sinusoid. |
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120 MHz deflection atmospheric correction auxiliary beam beam splitter capacitors Charge-coupled Devices control grid conventional means converter tube equipped cryptocyanine deflection amplifier deflection plates deflection sinusoid deflection voltage determined EIMAC electrons ENABLE GATE OUTPUT frequency multiplier Gate Delay ground-to-satellite distances Image Converter Chassis image converter grid image converter photocathode image converter tube image intensifier input interval meter large integral multiple laser pulse laser ranging measurements laser ranging system light path master timing control measurements of ground-to-satellite methanol mode control mode-locked laser transmitter nsec obtained OPTICAL FILTERS Oscilloscope outgoing and returning output mirror output phosphor photoelectrons photomultiplier Picosecond Pockels cell precision pulse selector Q-switched range uncertainty ranging pulse retroreflector return pulse returning light pulses roof-top range ruby laser satellite retroreflector shown in Fig signal Start-Stop Enable Gate Streak Camera tank circuit time-interval meter time-of-flight tion total length trigger vernier system volts X12 multiplier