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Overview

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) use short-pulse lasers and state-of-the-art optical receivers and timing electronics to measure the two-way time of flight (and hence distance) from ground stations to retroreflector arrays on Earth orbiting satellites and the Moon. Scientific products derived using SLR and LLR data include precise geocentric positions and motions of ground stations, satellite orbits, components of Earth’s gravity field and their temporal variations, Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP), precise lunar ephemerides and information about the internal structure of the Moon. Laser ranging systems are already measuring the one-way distance to remote optical receivers in space and can perform very accurate time transfer between sites far apart. Laser ranging activities are organized under the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) which provides global satellite and lunar laser ranging data and their derived data products to support research in geodesy, geophysics, Lunar science, and fundamental constants. This includes data products that are fundamental to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), which is established and maintained by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). The ILRS develops the necessary global standards/specifications for laser ranging activities and encourages international adherence to its conventions.

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Highlights

Elections completed for the 2018-2020 term of the ILRS Governing BoardRelease Date: 10/04/2018 The ILRS recently completed elections for the 2018-2020 term of the ILRS Governing Board.

View election results...

Two additional members of the Board will be appointed by the Governing Board, bringing total membership to 18 members. The chair will be elected at a meeting of the Board held in conjunction with the 21st International Workshop on Laser Ranging in November.

Congratulations to the newly elected representatives and thank you to all the excellent candidates who participated in the ILRS Governing Board election process. We were fortunate to have many very qualified candidates.

Important dates for 21st International Workshop on Laser RangingRelease Date: 07/27/2018This is a reminder that abstract submission for the 21st International Workshop on Laser Ranging closes on Wednesday, August 01 2018. Attendees are encouraged to take advantage of the early bird registration rate before 5pm AEST, Wednesday, August 01 2018. Please visit www.iwlr2018.serc.org.au for more information and updates. Any questions should be directed to the Conference Logistics at iwlr2018 @ conlog.com.au.

Second LARGE campaign of 2018Release Date: 06/27/2018The second LARGE campaign of 2018 will take place from August 1 through October 31, 2018.

Image credit:
NASA, JPL

The Passing of Jean DickeyRelease Date: 06/25/2018We were recently informed that our colleague, Jean Dickey, passed away suddenly on May 9, 2018. Jean worked at JPL since 1980. She made many significant contributions in LLR studies and Earth rotation research. Jean was an IAG ad AGU fellow and served as president of the AGU Geodesy Section in the mid-1990's, the first woman to do so.

Second Circular for the 21st International Workshop on Laser Ranging ReleasedRelease Date: 06/06/2018The Space Environment Research Centre (SERC) and the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) are actively organizing the 21st International Workshop on Laser Ranging in Canberra, Australia during the week of November 05-09, 2018. The second circular has been released. Registration is now open and attendees are encouraged to submit an abstract for oral and poster sessions.

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Recent News

The CDDIS is currently experiencing problems with receiving data and products - The CDDIS is currently experiencing problems receiving data and derived product files from those groups that routinely submit files to our upload servers. Therefore, some recent files are missing from the archive. We are actively working on the problem and hope to have the issues with file uploads solved soon.

We apologize for the problems this is causing our user community.

The Space Geodesy Project awards contract to KBRwyle Technology Solutions, LLC - The Space Geodesy Project awarded a contract to KBRwyle Technology Solutions, LLC in Columbia, Maryland, for the construction, deployment and commissioning of the agency’s next-generation Space Geodesy Satellite Laser Ranging (SGSLR) stations. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-contract-for-space-geodesy-satellite-laser-ranging-stations

Elections completed for the 2018-2020 term of the ILRS Governing Board - The ILRS recently completed elections for the 2018-2020 term of the ILRS Governing Board.

View election results...

Two additional members of the Board will be appointed by the Governing Board, bringing total membership to 18 members. The chair will be elected at a meeting of the Board held in conjunction with the 21st International Workshop on Laser Ranging in November.

Congratulations to the newly elected representatives and thank you to all the excellent candidates who participated in the ILRS Governing Board election process. We were fortunate to have many very qualified candidates.

NASA Earth Science Data and Services Survey for 2018 -

Recently, some of you may have received an email from the CFI Group on behalf of NASA. This message asked you to complete a survey for users of NASA Earth science data and services, which includes the Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS). The CDDIS is one of twelve NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) science data centers evaluated by this survey. The purpose of this survey is to help NASA and the DAACs assess customer satisfaction and improve future services. Suggestions from past surveys have been implemented to improve the tools and services offered by the CDDIS.

Please participate! Your feedback affects our future performance and helps to identify science needs. You will be able to take the survey for each DAAC you use. This is your opportunity to influence the priorities of the DAACs, including CDDIS.

If you did not receive a survey and wish to complete one or know of someone who uses CDDIS and/or EOSDIS data and services who did not receive a survey, please contact

NASASurvey@cfigroup.com.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction in the United States. NASA commissioned the CFI Group, an independent research and consulting organization, to conduct a brief survey to rate the products and services NASA currently provides from NASA's EOSDIS data centers. Please consider responding to this survey; your input will help us to better serve our user community.

Presentations of these results given to NASA Earth science are available at:

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/system-performance/american-customer-satisfaction-index-reports

Thank you in advance to all of you who are willing to spend a few minutes to complete the survey.

Meetings

Joint meeting of the ESA Topical Teams: ACES & General Relativity and ACES & Geodesy, clocks and time transfer, Technical University of Munich, Germany, October 22-24, 2018.

IGS 2018 Workshop, Wuhan, China, October 29 - November 02, 2018

International Workshop on GNSS Ionosphere (IWGI2018), Shanghai, China, Nov. 04-06, 2018

Publications

2009/2010 ILRS Report

Proceedings from the 19th International Workshop on Laser Ranging

International Laser Ranging Service

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