Precise determination of Earth's center of mass using measurements from the global positioning system

Abstract
Global Positioning System (GPS) data from a worldwide geodetic experiment were collected during a 3 week period early in 1991. We estimated geocentric station coordinates using the GPS data, thus defining a dynamically determined reference frame origin which should coincide with the Earth center of mass, or geocenter. The 3‐week GPS average geocenter estimates agree to 7–13 cm with geocenter estimates determined from satellite laser ranging, a well‐established technique. The RMS of daily GPS geocenter estimates were 4 cm for x and y, and 30 cm for z.