Physical Explanation of Influence of Twin and Three Satellite Formation Mode on the Accuracy of Earth's Gravitational Field

Abstract

The simulated results of the influence of twin and three satellite formation mode on the accuracy of GRACE Earth's gravitational field are interpreted from the viewpoint of physics. Because the effective satellite observation information of Earth's gravitational field recovery from three-satellite formation mode is only one time more than that of twin satellites, the improvement of the accuracy of Earth's gravitational field is far lower than one order of magnitude based on the simple two-times differences between three satellites. Three efficient ways of improving largely the accuracy of measurement of the Earth's gravitational field in the future international satellite gravity measurement programme, including proper decrease of satellite orbital altitude, the increase of accuracy from key payloads and an innovation of satellite observation mode are proposed.