Subject: [IGSMAIL-1085] New station in Irkutsk, Siberia (IRKT)
From: B. Ambrosius
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 7:14:02 PDT

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IGS Electronic Mail      Tue Oct 10  7:14:02 PDT 1995      Message Number 1085
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Author: B. Ambrosius
Subject: New station in Irkutsk, Siberia (IRKT)

Subject: New station in Irkutsk, Siberia (IRKT)

On September 21, 1995, a new station has become operational in Irkutsk, a
major Russian city in East Siberia, near lake Baikal. It is situated on a
hill southwest of the city at the premises of the East Siberian branch of
the Russian Time and Frequency State Service (ES NIIFTRI). Due to its
geographical location deep in Central Asia, where the density of IGS
stations is still rather low, this site represents a significant
extension of the global IGS network.

The project is a joint effort of the Institute for Metrology of Time and
Space (IMVP, GP VNIIFTRI) in Mendeleevo near Moscow, Delft University of
Technology (DUT) in the Netherlands and the NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL). DUT has provided the TurboRogue SNR-8000 receiver for
the Irkutsk station on a loan basis. Also, DUT will act as the
Operational Center for this new station. It represents the second step in
the ongoing cooperation between IMVP and DUT which resulted in the
establishment of the station in Mendeleevo, earlier this year. The
Irkutsk receiver will be replaced by a NASA/JPL supplied unit, as soon as
it becomes available.

An important detail is that the receiver is connected to a hydrogen
maser. As part of the Russian Time and Frequency State Service, ES
NIIFTRY has great experience in H-maser technology. It runs a large bank
of H-masers and other frequency standards.

The Dorne Margolin T antenna is mounted on a 2 - 3 m high concrete pillar
which was especially constructed for this purpose. Nearby an identical
pillar was constructed which will carry the antenna of a future permanent
GLONASS receiver. The TurboRogue receiver itself is housed in a special
room of the main office building at the hill, less than 30 m away. For
the time being, the daily data files are handcarried to the Institute of
the Earth Crust in Irkutsk where the nearest Internet connection is
located. From there they are transferred to Mendeleevo and to Delft.
After checking and Rinexing DUT submits the files to the Data Center at
IfAG.

This project has been realized thanks to the efforts of many individuals
at the various institues involved. However, there was also outside help
from dr. Eric Calais from Scripps Institute for Oceanography (SIO), who
happened to be in Irkutsk when the receiver arrived in late August. We
gratefully acknowledge his kind help in instructing the people in Irkutsk
about the operations of the receiver.

Data are available since day 264. The files will be transferred to IfAG
shortly. Routine submissions will start immediatly. The site information
from will be submitted to the IGS Central Bureau as soon as all the 
information is available. For the time being, here is some preliminary
information.

Approximate coordinates:
X    -968332.93
Y    3794424.12
Z    5018164.81

Antenna height (marker to bottom of chokering): 128 mm

Boudewijn Ambrosius (DUT)

[Mailed From: Boudewijn Ambrosius <[email-masked]>]