Initial result of the Chinese Deep Space Stations’ coordinates from Chinese domestic VLBI experiments

Abstract

China’s Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) prompted the design and construction of the globally distributed Chinese Deep Space Network (CDSN). This network consists of Jiamusi and Kashi stations in China, and Zapala station in Argentina. However, the positions of Jiamusi and Kashi are not accurate enough for future Chinese deep space missions, and geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is the most effective way to determine their positions. Since the CDSN stations are equipped with narrow-band receivers, they cannot participate in current international VLBI sessions in which wide-band frequencies are utilized. Thus a cooperative geodetic program of the CDSN and Chinese VLBI Network (CVN, the VLBI tracking subsystem of the CLEP) was initiated to determine their positions, in which specially designed frequencies can be utilized, and some CVN stations can act as position reference stations owing to their precise positions from long-term international VLBI observations. Primary results have been obtained from the CDSN–CVN combined domestic VLBI experiments from September 28, 2014, through December 10, 2015. The positions of Jiamusi and Kashi are determined to be better than 10-mm precision in the X, Y, and Z directions, which are improved by a factor of approximately 20 over their a priori values.