Effect of atmospheric anisoplanatism on earth-to-satellite time transfer over laser communication links

Abstract

The need for an accurate time reference on orbiting platforms motivates study of time transfer via free-space optical communication links. The impact of atmospheric turbulence on earth-to-satellite optical time transfer has not been fully characterized, however. We analyze limits to two-way laser time transfer accuracy posed by anisoplanatic non-reciprocity between uplink and downlink. We show that despite limited reciprocity, two- way time transfer can still achieve sub-picosecond accuracy in realistic propagation scenarios over a single satellite visibility period.