Quick Links
Recent News
This page contains all recent ILRS news. For those interested in news specific to satellite missions, please visit our Mission News page.
Yebes (YEBL-7817) Station, Spain, joins the ILRS Network Release Date: 10/16/2024
The ILRS Analysis Standing Committee, has successfully completed the qualification for operational status for the Yebes SLR station (7817) in the ILRS network. The system demonstrates a 2.1 to 2.7 mm Normal Point (NP) precision on the two LAGEOS and LARES-2 targets, and about 5.6 mm on LARES. The QC results show negligible biases to within the statistical uncertainty of the analyses. The present analyses were conducted with the laser ranging data at 1064 nm, and the default values for the satellite CoM offsets. Performance at 532 nm will continue to be monitored. All of the quarantined data has been placed in the public domain.
We welcome the station to the network!
The 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging, Kunming - China, Oct.20th–26th, 2024 – Updates to Important Deadlines Release Date: 09/12/2024
The Yunnan Observatories and the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) have released an update to Important Deadlines for the 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging in Kunming, China.
Abstract Submission: Now due by October 7, 2024.
Hotel Reservations: Book by October 11, 2024 at the latest.
The submission and reservation can be accessed through the workshop website:
https://23rdworkshop.casconf.cn/
Please adjust your plans accordingly.
We look forward to your participation, in person or virtually.
GGOS releases short film highlighting the Terrestrial Reference Frame Release Date: 06/20/2024
The GGOS (Global Geodetic Observing System) Coordinating Office has now released a new 2.5-minute short film highlighting the critical role of geodetic terrestrial reference frames. This video is primarily aimed at the general public and has been produced in collaboration with the UN-GGCE (United Nations Global Geodetic Center of Excellence). The video is available with subtitles in over 16 languages and can be viewed on the GGOS YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfqq-0d2txk
This short video complements the more comprehensive 10-minute version ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvNXv05646M), available in multiple languages, which has been viewed over 40,000 times since its release in September 2023.
On behalf of GGOS, the ILRS kindly invites ILRS community members to share this video with colleagues in their institutes, universities and the general public.
Please send comments or feedback concerning these videos to the ILRS central bureau or to Martin Sehnal at the GGOS Coordinating Office (Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying, BEV, Austria).
ILRS Visits the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GIS) and the Tsukuba and Ishioka Satellite Laser Ranging Stations, following participation in the Japan Geosciences Union Meeting 2024, in Chiba, Japan. Release Date: 06/10/2024
The ILRS Central Bureau Secretary, Claudia C. Carabajal, and Dr. Jean-Paul Boy from the University of Strasbourg, France were hosted by our Japanese colleagues for a visit to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GIS) and the SLR stations at Tsukuba and Ishioka. The visit was organized by Dr. Toshimichi Otsubo. The Omni-SLR system is being tested at the Ishioka Station.
More pictures of the visit can be found here.
National Geodetic Survey (NGS) 2024 Local Tie Survey for Greenbelt is now availableRelease Date: 06/06/2024
The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has posted the results of their recent local tie survey at the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (GGAO) in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S.A. The GGAO hosts all four space geodetic techniques, including SLR, VLBI, GNSS & DORIS. The local tie survey took place from March 25 to April 5, 2024, and the NGS team was led by Kevin Jordan of the NGS Field Operations Branch.
The survey results, report, and SINEX file are available at the NOAA/NGS website in the Table by clicking on the links for "Washington (2024)". Please contact the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and/or the ILRS Central Bureau with any questions or feedback.
URL: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/corbin/iss/index.shtml
The 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging, Kunming - China, Oct.20th–26th, 2024 – Second Announcement Release Date: 05/22/2024
The Yunnan Observatories and the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) have released the Second Announcement for the 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging in Kunming, China.
The announcement can be found here.
The poster for the Workshop can also be accessed here.
New SLR Analysis Center: CNES, France Release Date: 04/03/2024
The ILRS welcomes the new Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Analysis Center.
CNES has been successfully validated as ILRS Analysis Centers. The validation was performed by the ASI Combination Center for all the routine ILRS standard products (thanks to Antonio Basoni).
As stated by the ILRS terms of Reference: “The ACs provide, at a minimum, daily-resolution Earth orientation parameters, weekly-averaged station coordinates and satellite orbits, on a daily basis, as well as other products, required by the IERS.”
The contact points are:
Dr. Franck Reinquin Franck.Reinquin@cnes.fr
Dr. Adrian Baños-Garcia abanos-garcia@groupcls.com
The 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging, Kunming - China, Oct.20th–26th, 2024 Release Date: 03/11/2024
The Yunnan Observatories and the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) are pleased to announce that the 23rd International Workshop on Laser Ranging will be held in Kunming, China during 20-26 October 2024.
More details can be found in the workshop website online with the link below:
https://23rdworkshop.casconf.cn/
We look forward to your participation!
Passing of Spanish Navy Observatory researcher Dr. Manuel Catalán Morollón Release Date: 01/12/2024
We are sad to report that Spanish Navy Observatory researcher Dr. Manuel Catalán Morollón passed away on December 12 after a bout with cancer. Dr. Morollón, as leader of the San Fernando SLR Station, spearheaded the recent modernization of the SLR system to improve performance. He was a very active researcher in several Earth Science disciplines; he was dedicated to his work and remained active right up until the end. He was a strong supporter of ILRS and a good friend. He will be greatly missed.
