The SIRIO-1 Timing Experiment

E. Detoma, S. Leschiutta

Abstract:	During the 1979 a time synchronization experiment was performed via the SIRIO-1 satellite. The experiment is sponsored by the Italian National Council of Research (CNR) and was proposed and studied by the Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale, Turin, Italy. The RF communication channels are in the SHP region, with the uplink carrier at 18 GHz and downlink at 12 GHz. The synchronization has been performed between two ground stations located in the northern and in the central part of the country. One-way and two-way techniques have been evaluated. Two modes of operation are tested in the two-way technique: - sequential, time multiplexed, signal transmission on the same communication channel; - simultaneous transmission using separate communication channel. In the sequential mode of operation an advanced technique, using range and Doppler measurements provided by the timing signals, is used, to take in account for the satellite motion. A low cost, versatile, time transfer unit (TTU) was designed, to generate the timing signals and the functions (RF carrier and receiver switching, time tagging of the data, etc.) required to perform automatic time synchronization and data acquisition with a minimum of external components. The work was performed when the author was at IEN.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 11th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting November 27 - 29, 1979 Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland
Pages:	521 - 556
Cite this article:	Detoma, E., Leschiutta, S., "The SIRIO-1 Timing Experiment," Proceedings of the 11th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Greenbelt, Maryland, November 1979, pp. 521-556.
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