Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) ILRS Analysis Center (AC) Position and Earth Rotation Parame

NASA CDDIS hosts Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) derived products from the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). These daily files contain precise station positions, velocities, and Earth Rotation Parameters (ERP) for the global ILRS network, derived from millimeter-precision range measurements. The data supports the terrestrial reference frame, gravitational field modeling, and precise orbit determination for altimeter missions.

Use Cases

• Monitoring millimeter-level variations in Earth's center of mass based on unambiguous SLR range measurements.
• Contributing to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) based on daily station position and velocity solutions.
• Providing Earth Orientation Parameters (EOPs) for satellite orbit determination and geophysical studies.
• Supporting tests of General Relativity and sub-nanosecond global time transfer based on precise timing data.

Strengths

• Data provides millimeter-precision unambiguous range measurements, as explicitly stated.
• Products are the official, highest-quality combined solutions from the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).
• Daily generation with a typical 2-day delay provides relatively current data for time-sensitive applications.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data schema are unknown across all platform entries, hindering immediate analysis.
• Platform metadata for size, row counts, and specific license terms is consistently missing or listed as 'None'.
• The input describes multiple related but distinct products (AC solutions, Final solutions, Orbit products), creating potential confusion for a single dataset entry.

Provenance

Source

NASA Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS), International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) Analysis Centers.

Collection Method

Derived product set generated by ILRS Analysis Centers from aggregated global Satellite Laser Ranging network data.

Time Range

Daily files spanning 00:00 to 23:45 UTC.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:39:55.035260

Geography

Global coverage of stations in the ILRS network.