Gravitational redshift test of EEP with RadioAstron from near Earth to the distance of the Moon

The Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) is a cornerstone of general relativity and predicts the existence of gravitational redshift. We report on new results of measuring this shift with RadioAstron (RA), a space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) spacecraft launched into an evolving high eccentricity orbit around Earth with geocentric...

Spacecraft VLBI tracking to enhance stellar occultations astrometry of planetary satellites

Context. Stellar occultations currently provide the most accurate ground-based measurements of the positions of natural satellites (down to a few kilometres for the Galilean moons). However, when using these observations in the calculation of satellite ephemerides, the uncertainty in the planetary ephemerides dominates the error budget of the...

High spectral resolution multi-tone Spacecraft Doppler tracking software: Algorithms and implementations

We present a software package for single-dish data processing of spacecraft signals observed with VLBI-equipped radio telescopes. The Spacecraft Doppler tracking (SDtracker) software allows one to obtain topocentric frequency detections with a sub-Hz precision and reconstructed and residual phases of the carrier signal of any spacecraft or...

Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) for Planetary Atmospheric Studies

RadioAstron as a target and as an instrument: Enhancing the Space VLBI mission’s scientific output

Context. The accuracy of orbit determination has a strong impact on the scientific output of the Space VLBI mission RadioAstron. Aims. The aim of this work is to improve the RadioAstron orbit reconstruction by means of sophisticated dynamical modelling of its motion in combination with multi-station Doppler tracking of the RadioAstron spacecraft...

Observations and analysis of phase scintillation of spacecraft signal on the interplanetary plasma

Aims. The phase scintillation of the European Space Agency’s Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft telemetry signal was observed at X-band (? = 3.6 cm) with a number of radio telescopes of the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network in the period 2009–2013. Methods. We found a phase fluctuation spectrum along the Venus orbit with a...