Abstract
It is reported that periodic fluctuations of about 1-meter amplitude and about 12-hour period appear in post-fit range residuals of geosynchronous satellites. In order to explain the cause of the periodic fluctuations, two hypotheses were established in this study. They are as follows. (1) It was assumed that the along-track force acts on the only satellites which are spinning. (2) The tracking stations move horizontally with the earth's crusts due to tidal generating forces, the period of the crust movements is about 12 hours and the amplitude is 1 to 2 meters. The fluctuation of the mass distribution in the earth, such as solid earth tides and ocean tides, varies forces which act on the earth's crusts periodically, as a result, the crusts move horizontally. A model for the horizontal movement of the earth's crusts was developed, and it is confirmed that the periodic fluctuations in post-fit range residuals are removed by correcting the tracking station locations using the developed model in the orbital analysis of geosynchronous satellites. These results are reported in this paper.
