In connection with the work for the next generation VLBI2010 Global Observing System (VGOS) of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry, a new scheduling package (Vie_Sched) has been developed at the Vienna University of Technology as a part of the Vienna VLBI Software. In addition to the classical station-based approach it is equipped with a new scheduling strategy based on the radio sources to be observed. We introduce different configurations of source-based scheduling options and investigate the implications on present and future VLBI2010 geodetic schedules. By comparison to existing VLBI schedules of the continuous campaign CONT11, we find that the source-based approach with two sources has a performance similar to the station-based approach in terms of number of observations, sky coverage, and geodetic parameters. For an artificial 16 station VLBI2010 network, the source-based approach with four sources provides an improved distribution of source observations on the celestial sphere. Monte Carlo simulations yield slightly better repeatabilities of station coordinates with the source-based approach with two sources or four sources than the classical strategy. The new VLBI scheduling software with its alternative scheduling strategy offers a promising option with respect to applications of the VGOS.
Keywords: CRF; Scheduling; TRF; Very long baseline interferometry.