Worldwide Clock Synchronization Using a Synchronous Satellite

An experiment performed in late 1967 is reported which investigated the synchronization of widely separated clocks. One-way VHF timing signals were relayed to remote clocks from a reference clock by means of a transponder on a geostationary satellite. The problem of synchronizing clocks using one-way transmission reduces to the problem of predicting the radio propagation delay. The accuracy of predicting the delay was 10 As or 60 Ms depending on the method used. This technique may offer an alternative to transporting atomic standards to geodetic and spacecraft tracking stations around the world in fulfillment of their clock synchronization requirements.