A study of VLB 2010 potential for source structure corrections

In October 2003, the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) in- stalled Working Group 3 ‘VLBI2010' to examine current and future requirements for geodetic/astrometric VLBI including all components from antennas to analysis, and to create recommendations for a new gen- eration of VLBI systems. Some important recommendations include: the use of larger networks; the use of smaller faster slewing antennas; the use of very high data rates; and, the use of multiple (e.g. 4) widely spaced bands to resolve RF phase ambiguities. When taken together, these recommendations result in a many-fold increase in the number of observations per session. UV coverage improves to the point where precise VLBI images of the ICRF sources can be constructed on a daily basis directly from the geodetic observations, therefore enabling source structure corrections to be calculated. Simulations are currently underway to evaluate the potential of this approach