Given the extreme accuracy of modern space science, a precise relativistic
modeling of observations is required. In particular, it is important to
describe properly light propagation through the Solar System. For two decades,
several modeling efforts based on the solution of the null geodesic equations
have been proposed but they are mainly valid only for the first order
Post-Newtonian approximation. However, with the increasing precision of ongoing
space missions as Gaia, GAME, BepiColombo, JUNO or JUICE, we know that some
corrections up to the second order have to be taken into account for future
experiments. We present a procedure to compute the relativistic coordinate time
delay, Doppler and astrometric observables avoiding the integration of the null
geodesic equation. This is possible using the Time Transfer Function formalism,
a powerful tool providing key quantities such as the time of flight of a light
signal between two point-events and the tangent vector to its null-geodesic.
Indeed we show how to compute the Time Transfer Functions and their derivatives
(and thus range, Doppler and astrometric observables) up to the second
post-Minkowskian order. We express these quantities as quadratures of some
functions that depend only on the metric and its derivatives evaluated along a
Minkowskian straight line. This method is particularly well adapted for
numerical estimations. As an illustration, we provide explicit expressions in
static and spherically symmetric space-time up to second post-Minkowskian
order. Then we give the order of magnitude of these corrections for the
range/Doppler on the BepiColombo mission and for astrometry in a GAME-like
observation.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.