Precision Earth-to-Satellite Range Measurements Using Delay-Lock Techniques

An experiment is described in which broad-band pseudo-noise modulation and tracking techniques were used to measure precisely the range from an earth station to near-synchronous satellites. Range measurements of approximately 22 000 miles were performed with a total error of less than 120 feet, with rms jitter errors of about 3 feet, and with readout resolution of 1 foot.