NASA CDDIS Satellite Laser Ranging Orbit Products

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Satellite Orbit Products from NASA CDDIS provide weekly Precise Orbit Determination (POD) solutions in SP3 format. These official products are generated by International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) analysis centers and combined by the coordinator, available approximately five days after each solution week. The dataset is hosted by NASA's Crustal Dynamics Data Information System.

Use Cases

• Validating and comparing orbits from other tracking systems like GNSS or DORIS.
• Contributing to the realization and maintenance of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF).
• Studying Earth's geodynamic phenomena, including crustal motion and rotational variations.
• Supporting precise orbit determination for satellites equipped with laser retroreflectors.
• Analyzing long-term orbital decay and atmospheric drag effects on satellites.

Strengths

• Data represents the official combined weekly orbit product from the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).
• Products are generated with a rapid latency of approximately five days after the end of each solution week.
• Hosted by the authoritative NASA Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS).

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.
• One source lists a future 'last updated' date of 2026-03 12, which is a conflict or error.

Provenance

Source

International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) analysis centers, combined by the ILRS analysis coordinator.

Collection Method

Precise Orbit Determination (POD) derived from analysis of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data.

Time Range

Weekly solutions, with continuous updates.

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:08:05.793299

Geography

Global, tracking satellites in Earth orbit.