[time-nuts] moon bounce for synchronization

jimlux jimlux at earthlink.net
Sat Jan 30 09:16:04 EST 2016


This month's historical picture from JPL
http://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/historical-photo-of-the-month

This atomic clock was used at the Goldstone Time Standards Laboratory in 
1970, to synchronize clocks at Deep Space Network stations around the 
world. This master clock was accurate to plus or minus two millionths of 
a second, when compared to clocks maintained by the National Bureau of 
Standards and the U.S. Naval Observatory. In the late 1960s, JPL had 
developed a moon bounce technique to transmit signals from one deep 
space antenna to another. Experiments included periodic measurement of 
timing signals that were reflected from the surface of the moon, to find 
out if the station clocks were within allowable limits for accuracy.

Time-nut will recognize, of course, that none of the things in that 
picture are actually an atomic clock, although they are thing that are 
useful if you have an atomic clock.


Note the sophisticated temperature monitoring system.



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