Global VLBI ties using mixed-mode sessions

Geodetic VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) currently consists of two observing networks (legacy S/X and broadband VGOS). Heretofore, the two networks have run rather independently, which is non-ideal. There have been several attempts to combine observations from both networks at sites with co-located antennas using either conventional local-tie surveys or VLBI tie-sessions between S/X and VGOS, or both. Unfortunately, the number of sites with co-located VLBI antennas is rather limited, which hampers progress. To overcome this problem, we proposed an approach, the so-called mixed-mode VLBI tie session, that does not require to have co-located VLBI antennas. Instead, mixed-mode sessions have the S/X and VGOS networks observed simultaneously as a single geodetic VLBI technique to thus obtain global ties between the two networks. Two of the sessions observed in 2020 were already included in the ITRF2020 combination. We hypothesize that the global-tie approach helps preserve the geometry of the networks when aligning with the state-of-art ITRF2020 frame. In this presentation, we will describe the observed mixed-mode sessions, detailing scheduling strategies, correlation techniques, and geodetic processing methods used. We will also demonstrate how mixed-mode sessions can help realize a stable global geodetic reference frame such as the ITRF.