VLBI 2010
Introduction
Geodetic VLBI stands at the brink of a new era. Such societally relevant issues as climate change and natural hazards are placing ever increasing demands on performance. This comes at a time when problems with aging antennas, a deteriorating RFI environment, obsolete electronics, and high operating costs are making current levels of accuracy, reliability, and timeliness difficult to sustain. Attaining modern requirements for significantly greater accuracy, continuous data flow, and shortened times to product delivery challenge the continuing progress made by geodetic VLBI over the past 30 years. Fortunately, recent advances in antenna manufacture, digital electronics, and data transmission technology are enabling modes of operation unimaginable only a few years ago. Furthermore, the capital investment and reduced operating costs associated with the new technology make complete renewal of present infrastructure appear cost effective. A new instrument that will meet requirements for decades to come can now be envisioned.
VLBI2010
IVS Working Group 3 (WG3) was asked to examine current and future requirements for geodetic VLBI, including all components from antennas to analysis, and to create recommendations for a new generation of VLBI systems. VLBI2010 is a new set of criteria by which to measure the next generation geodetic VLBI system was established based on the recommendations for future IVS products detailed in the IVS Working Group 2 Report [WG2], on the requirements of the Global Geodetic Observing System project of the International Association of Geodesy [GGOS], and on the science driven geodetic goals outlined in the NASA Solid Earth Science Working Group Report [SESWG]. These criteria are:
- 1 mm measurement accuracy on global baselines
- continuous measurements for time series of station positions and Earth orientation parameters
- turnaround time to initial geodetic results of less than 24 hrs.
Memos developed for the VLBI2010 studies, including the report of Working Group 3, may be found at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/memos/index.html
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