The miniSLR: A low-budget, high-performance satellite laser ranging ground station
Daniel Hampf, Felicitas Niebler, Tristan Meyer, Wolfgang, Riede

TL;DR
The miniSLR is a compact, cost-effective satellite laser ranging ground station that achieves high-precision measurements comparable to traditional systems, facilitating broader adoption and new applications.
Contribution
This paper introduces the miniSLR, a small, transportable SLR system with novel technical solutions that maintains high performance at a lower cost and complexity.
Findings
Achieves sub-centimetre accuracy in satellite ranging
Successfully measures data from key SLR satellites
Operates effectively as part of the ILRS network
Abstract
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is an established technique providing very accurate position measurements of satellites in Earth orbit. However, despite decades of development, it remains a complex and expensive technology, which impedes its further growth to new applications and users. The miniSLR implements a complete SLR system within a small, transportable enclosure. Through this design, costs of ownership can be reduced significantly, and the process of establishing a new SLR site is greatly simplified. A number of novel technical solutions have been implemented to achieve a good laser ranging performance despite the small size and simplified design. Data from the initial six months of test operation has been used to generate a first estimation of the system performance. The data includes measurements to many of the important SLR satellites, such as Lageos, Etalon and most of the…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGNSS positioning and interference · Inertial Sensor and Navigation · Space Satellite Systems and Control
