Hydrogen Maser Support of VLBI for the NASA Crustal Dynamics Project

For the NASA Crustal Dynamics Project VLBI network, signals from quasars are recorded simultaneously at widely separated antennas. It is well known that hydrogen maser frequency standards provide the stable frequency reference used to precisely measure the difference in arrival time of the radio signals at the different antennas, enabling the determination of precise distances between the antennas. This paper reviews the practical requirements for maser support of VLBI for the Crustal Dynamics Project and describes the means used to meet these requirements for a network of eight fixed and three mobile stations which participate in approximately 200 VLBI experiments per year at locations in North America and the Pacific.