Abstract:

The satellite gravimetry technology effectively recovers the global Earth’s gravity field. Since 2000s, HL-SST satellite CHAMP, LL-SST satellite GRACE, Gravity Gradient Measurement (GGM) satellite GOCE have been launched successfully, producing some Earth’s gravity models solely from satellites data. However, the space and time resolution of the Earth’s gravity fields do not adequately satisfy scientific objectives. The main reason is that the gravimetry satellites are not enough and observation data insufficient. The paper outlines the current and future status of Chinese gravity satellite missions. The Chinese gravimetry satellite system, named Chinese Gravimetry augment and Mass change exploring mission (ChiGaM), successfully launched in Dec. 2021 after four years of production and over a year of calibration and valiation. The accelerometer, K-band ranging system and the three stellar sensors, among others, were precisely calibrated and trimmed. The satellite mass center was determined and coordinated with the proof center of accelerometer with an accuracy 100μm. The inter-satellite ranging system and BDS/GPS receiver operate together seamlessly. The range and range rate noise is less than 3μm/Hz^1/2 and 1μm/s/Hz^1/2, respectively, in band of 0.025~0.1Hz. The electrostatic suspension accelerometer is working well. Its high-sensitive axis noise level is 3×10^-10 m/s²/Hz^1/2 near the frequency 0.1Hz, and 1×10^-9 m/s²/Hz^1/2 for the less-sensitive axis. Meanwhile the BDS/GPS receiver is used to achieve data for precise orbit determination, yielding an orbit result with accuracy better than 2cm. When compared with KBR observations, the RMS of the bias is less than 1mm. Besides above mission, next gravimetric satellite is being developed now. TQ-2 mission is designed as a totally experimental satellite for gravitational wave detection at low Earth orbit, which can detect the Earth’s gravity field simultaneously. The Bender-type mission is considered the most promising configuration for TQ-2 and consists of two polar satellites and two inclined satellites. Due to the extra observations at the east-west direction derived from the inclined satellite pair, significant improvements has been made in detecting temporal signals with higher accuracy and spatial-temporal resolution. To achieve the scientific goal, the ACC MBW can shift from 0.001~0.1Hz to 0.004~0.1Hz for ACC, and the LRI MBW can shift from 0.01~1Hz to 0.1~1Hz. For future research, a gravimetric potential survey using cold-atomic-clock based on the general relativity theory, cold atom gradiometer should be pursued. Gravimetric technologies should be mined and researched, and the gravimetry satellite constellation should be developed, so as to improve the time resolution and space resolution for meeting the requirements of geophysics, geodesy, earthquake, water resources environment, oceanography, etc.

Key words: satellite gravimetry, the Earth’s gravity field, gravity, GRACE, GRACE-FO, GOCE