Delta-DOR is a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique, in which a spacecraft signal is simultaneously observed and recorded from two distant ground stations. This measurement is affected by numerous error sources, which are calibrated using an Extra-Galactic Radio Source (EGRS) with an a priori well known position.
Both signals (spacecraft and EGRS) have to be recorded on an Open Loop receiver at each station in order to be later processed (off- line) by a correlator, where a Delta DOR product is generated and used as input for the spacecraft¹s orbit determination.
ESA has entrusted MakaluMedia with the development of the DDRR (Delta- DOR Retrieval Routine) which will be in charge of the data transfer of Delta DOR files between ESA deep space ground stations (New-Norcia in Australia and Cebreros in Spain) and ESOC (in Germany): for each measurement session, up to 11.3 GBytes of data need to be transferred to ESOC from each station, splitting the data transmissions over two lines, in order to minimize the transfer time and optimize the bandwidth used, still not jeopardizing the Quality of Service required for TM/TC (telemetry, telecommand) and critical stations services.
For more information about MakaluMedia activities, please contact Mr. Fausto Roveda or Mr. Matt Henderson at mail@makalumedia.com.