An Off-Air Observatory Time Service

Anthony R Seabrook

Abstract:	When the decision was taken to severely reduce the funding for the Greenwich Time Service, an alternative precision time service had to be found, so that the Satellite Laser Ranger could continue to operate. There were certain constraints on the alternative such as, high precision, highly reliable, not labour intensive, physically small and inexpensive. This paper shows how this was achieved. It is considered to be a unique solution not achieved before and provides an elegant solution to an inherently complex problem. Great reliance is put upon external agencies to provide the infrastructure to maintain their equipment. Use is made of the LORAN-C chain of stations for the frequency references and the Global Positioning System satellite for the Time of Day and traceability. This is a one rack complete observatory time service and the results compare very favourably with the remaining standards on site.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 19th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting December 1 - 3, 1989 Sheraton Hotel Redondo Beach, California
Pages:	49 - 68
Cite this article:	Seabrook, Anthony R, "An Off-Air Observatory Time Service," Proceedings of the 19th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Redondo Beach, California, December 1987, pp. 49-68.
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