Nicolas J, Pierron F, Kasser M, Exertier P, Bonnefond P, Barlier F O, Haase J
Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, Avenue N Copernic, F-06130 Grasse, France.
Appl Opt. 2000 Jan 20;39(3):402-10. doi: 10.1364/ao.39.000402.
The French Transportable Laser Ranging Station (FTLRS) is a highly mobile satellite laser ranging (SLR) system unit that weighs 300 kg and is housed in eight containers. This telemetry laser station is dedicated to the tracking of geodetic satellites equipped with retroreflectors. There are fascinating uses in the geosciences for such a system: in tectonics, oceanography, terrestrial reference frames, and precise positioning. The idea is to use a very small 13-cm-diameter telescope installed on a motorized mount and derived from a geodetic motorized theodolite of high precision. The laser is also compact, and the use of an avalanche photodiode makes detection possible at a single photoelectron level. On-site installation of this new SLR system is fast, and the system's routine operation is quite automated. It started its operational phase in late 1996. At present, it can track satellites at altitudes of as much as 3000 km and is designed to range to the Laser Geodynamic Earth Orientation Satellite (LAGEOS) at 6000 km in a further step. The standard error of individual measurements during the first observation campaign in Corsica is estimated to be of the order of 2-3 cm. Since then, significant improvements have been implemented. A technical description of the FTLRS is given, and the main results of the Corsica campaign are summarized.
法国可运输激光测距站（FTLRS）是一个高度可移动的卫星激光测距（SLR）系统单元，重300千克，装在八个集装箱内。这个遥测激光站专门用于跟踪配备后向反射器的大地测量卫星。这样一个系统在地球科学中有一些引人入胜的用途：在构造学、海洋学、地球参考框架和精确定位方面。其思路是使用一个安装在电动支架上的直径仅13厘米的小型望远镜，该望远镜源自高精度大地测量电动经纬仪。激光设备也很紧凑，使用雪崩光电二极管使得在单光电子水平上进行探测成为可能。这种新型SLR系统的现场安装速度很快，并且系统的日常操作相当自动化。它于1996年末开始运行阶段。目前，它能够跟踪高度达3000千米的卫星，并且进一步设计能够对6000千米处的激光地球动力学地球定向卫星（LAGEOS）进行测距。在科西嘉岛首次观测活动期间，单次测量的标准误差估计约为2 - 3厘米。从那时起，已经实现了显著改进。本文给出了FTLRS的技术描述，并总结了科西嘉岛观测活动的主要结果。
