(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-01-08)
Henley, Brandon R.
Lunar laser ranging (LLR) is an important tool for understanding the physical laws that
shape the universe. To date, LLR has only been conducted from Earth-based ground
stations, which are subject to the complex dynamics of the solid Earth. In addition, ground based laser pulses are subject to significant interference as they pass through the
atmosphere. In an effort to improve both the precision and frequency of LLR
measurements, this paper explores the potential of placing a formation of two small satellites
in Low Earth Orbit with the capability of conducting LLR. Such a system would avoid many
of the modeling requirements and corrections required for ground stations and would be
capable of acquiring more measurements, at equal or higher quality, thereby improving the
accuracy of the Earth-Moon distance estimates. This paper attempts to show that such a
system is feasible and worth further exploration by the lunar laser ranging community.