The International Laser Ranging Service and Its Support for GGOS.

The International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) was established in September 1998 as a service within the IAG to support programs in geodetic, geophysical, and lunar research activities and to provide data products to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) in support of its prime objectives. The ILRS develops the standards and specifications necessary for product consistency and the priorities and tracking strategies required to maximize network efficiency. This network consists of more than forty SLR stations, routinely tracking nearly thirty retroreflector-equipped satellites and the Moon in support of user needs. The Service collects, merges, analyzes, archives and distributes satellite and lunar laser ranging data to satisfy a variety of scientific, engineering, and operational needs and encourages the application of new technologies to enhance the quality, quantity, and cost effectiveness of its data products. The ILRS works with the global network to improve station performance, new satellite missions in the design and building of retroreflector targets to maximize data quality and quantity, and science programs to optimize scientific data yield. The ILRS Central Bureau maintains a comprehensive web site (http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov) as the primary vehicle for the distribution of information within the ILRS community. During the last few years, the ILRS has addressed very important challenges: (1) Data from the network stations are now submitted hourly and made available immediately through the data centers, (2) Tracking on low orbit satellites has been significantly improved through the sub-daily issuance of predictions, drag functions, and the real-time exchange of time biases, (3) Analysis products are now submitted in SINEX format for compatibility with the other space geodesy techniques, (4) The Analysis Working Group is now generating an operational station position and Earth Orientation Parameter (EOP) product, and (5) SLR has significantly increased its participation in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]