Title: The NASA Satellite Laser Ranging Network

Mike Perlman
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

and 

David L. Carter
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center


Abstract:

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is a fundamental measurement technique 
used by the NASA Space Geodesy Program to support both national and 
international programs in Earth dynamics, ocean and ice surface 
altimetry, navigation and positioning, and technology development. 
SLR uses lasers to measure ranges from ground stations to satellite 
equipped with retro-reflectors to the millimeter level.  The NASA 
SLR network consists of nine stations covering North America, the 
west coast of South America, the Pacific, South Africa, and Western 
Australia.  The global SLR activities are coordinated by the 
International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS), a service of the 
International Association of Geodesy (IAG).  The Central Bureau for 
the ILRS is located at GSFC.

Mt. Haleakala Laser Ranging System (HOLLAS) located on the island of 
Maui, Hawaii was developed by the University of Hawaii, Institute 
for Astronomy under contract from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 
HOLLAS is one of the top data producing SLR stations in the world 
with a very important geographical location.  Currently, NASA is 
developing the next generation of NASA SLR systems called 
SLR2000which is a fully autonomous, eye-safe, sub-centimeter 
precision ranging instrument. The presentation will include 
discussion of SLR and its scientific applications, the history of 
LURE Observatory, the NASA SLR network and its future plans with the 
development, replication, and deployment of the new SLR2000 system.