Satellite laser ranging at 100 kHz pulse repetition rate

Current satellite laser ranging (SLR) systems work at laser repetition rates of some 10 Hz up to about 10 kHz. However, using a laser repetition rate of 100 kHz offers several advantages. First, a laser with lower pulse energy can be used, while nevertheless the same amount of returns is received for a given target. Second, a poor single-shot precision (e.g. due to a long laser pulse) can be counteracted, as the statistical error decreases with the number of individual measurements. These two factors increase the number of options concerning the laser source and may also help to make the system inherently eye safe. Lastly, it may also help to gather data more quickly and thus increase the number of targets that can be tracked per system. A high repetition rate SLR system has been installed at the Uhlandshohe observatory in Stuttgart, Germany. Using an effective repetition rate of 100 kHz and a pulse energy of 50 mu various typical SLR targets could be ranged successfully, including LAGEOS and global navigation system satellites at altitudes of around 20,000 km. A comparative orbit analysis, using data taken by other SLR stations at the same time, shows that a normal point scatter in the order of 1 cm is achieved despite the rather poor single-shot precision of about 60 cm. These results show an interesting potential especially for future low-cost SLR systems that may utilize this technique to achieve competitive performance with small, low-energy lasers.