What Happened
3 min readNASA Laser Reflecting Instrument Makes GPS Satellite More Accurate A NASA laser reflecting technology that will aid Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy is now operational as of March 9.
Why It Matters
The instrument, known as a laser retroreflector array, or LRA, launched aboard GPS III SV-09, the ninth of U.S.
Key Details
- Space Force’s Block III Global Positioning System satellites, on Jan.
- LRAs are sets of mirrors shaped like the corners of a cube, a configuration that is designed to precisely reflect beams of light back to their source.
- They are a key component to laser ranging, a technique that enables the measurement of precise distance by observing the time it takes for a pulse of light to travel from a ground station to the mirrors and back.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, carrying the GPS III SV-09 satellite into Earth orbit.Credit: SpaceX “LRAs are the most efficient and cost-effective way to improve products that come out of GPS,” said Lucia Tsaoussi, program manager for NASA’s Space Geodesy at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Background Context
3 min readNASA Laser Reflecting Instrument Makes GPS Satellite More Accurate A NASA laser reflecting technology that will aid Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy is now operational as of March 9. The instrument, known as a laser retroreflector array, or LRA, launched aboard GPS III SV-09, the ninth of U.S. Space Force’s Block III Global Positioning System satellites, on Jan. 27. LRAs are sets of mirrors shaped like the corners of a cube, a configuration that is designed to precisely reflect beams of light back to their source. They are a key component to laser ranging, a technique that enables the measurement of precise distance by observing the time it takes for a pulse of light to tra
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Source: NASA – Original Link
Source: NASA
