Simulation of a Future SLR Satellite to Improve Low‐Degree Gravity Estimates

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE; 2002-2017) and GRACE Follow-On (2018-present) have observed Earth's monthly mass change with unprecedented spatial resolution. These missions have long relied on satellite laser ranging (SLR) measurements to replace the C-2,C-0 coefficient, which GRACE recovers poorly. Recent work has also shown the need for SLR-determined C-3,C-0 when GRACE operates with a single accelerometer. However, it was not until the 2012 launch of the Laser Relativity Satellite that the SLR data gained the sensitivity to recover C-3,C-0 accurately. These low-degree gravity coefficients represent large-scale mass transport and small changes in their values have implications for ice sheet, ocean mass, and water storage estimates. To fully exploit SLR's utility for time-variable gravity (TVG), future satellite orbits should be selected to maximize their sensitivity to the gravity field. In this work, we present results from a simulation study of a hypothetical SLR satellite in which we generate 1 year of data to satellites placed across varying inclinations. We also simulate seven current SLR satellites to show realistic improvements from the new satellite. When compared to the known truth input, a low-inclination satellite (更多