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Tropospheric Delay Calibration System performance during the first two BepiColombo solar conjunctions
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  • Riccardo Lasagni Manghi,
  • David Bernacchia,
  • Luis Gomez Casajus,
  • Zannoni Marco,
  • Paolo Tortora,
  • Antonio Martellucci,
  • De Vicente Javier,
  • Villalvilla Jose,
  • Gerrit Maschwitz,
  • Paolo Cappuccio,
  • Luciano Iess
Riccardo Lasagni Manghi
University of Bologna

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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David Bernacchia
Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
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Luis Gomez Casajus
Università di Bologna
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Zannoni Marco
University of Bologna
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Paolo Tortora
Università di Bologna
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Antonio Martellucci
ESA
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De Vicente Javier
ESA
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Villalvilla Jose
ESA-ESOC
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Gerrit Maschwitz
RPG Radiometer Physics GmbH
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Paolo Cappuccio
Sapienza University of Rome
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Luciano Iess
Università di Roma La Sapienza
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Abstract

Media propagation delay and delay-rate induced by the water vapor within the Earth’s troposphere represent one of the main error sources for radiometric measurements in deep space. In preparation for the BepiColombo and JUICE missions, the European Space Agency has installed the prototype of a tropospheric delay calibration system (TDCS) at the DSA-3 ground station located in Malargüe, Argentina. An initial characterization of the TDCS performance was realized using the orbit determination of the Gaia spacecraft as a testbed. This work will further characterize the system by analyzing the BepiColombo tracking passes, which were recorded between March 2021 and February 2022 during the first two superior solar conjunction experiments. The performance exceeds the expectations based on the previous analysis, with an average 51% reduction of the Doppler noise when using the TDCS measurements in place of standard calibrations based on global navigation satellite system data. The tropospheric instability at long time scales is also significantly reduced, with most of the tracking passes now satisfying the Mercury orbiter radioscience experiment (MORE) requirements on two-way Doppler stability.
31 Jan 2023Published in Radio Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022RS007614