Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Using two-day arcs of GEOS-3 laser data, simultaneous solutions for pole position components, xp and yp, and orbit elements have been obtained for the period spanning 3 February to 6 March 1976 using three NASA Goddard Space Flight Center laser stations located near Washington, D.C. (STALAS) and on the islands of Bermuda and Grand Turk. The results are in general agreement with the BIH results. However, because of the locations of the laser sites, the xp solution is weaker than the yp solution. The xp and yp estimates were smoothed with a straight line by weighted least squares using the variance associated with the pole estimates as weights in order to reflect the effect of widely different data distributions. The smoothed yp differs by one meter with respect to the BIH smoothed values and the smoothed xp differs by about two meters. Spectral analysis of the results has identified frequencies associated with the orbital motion indicating the need for further improvements in the model of the physical system.