International Laser Ranging Service

ESA Lunar Pathfinder mission to include Lunar Laser RangingRelease Date: 04/28/2022 The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that a test version of a unique satellite navigation receiver has been delivered for the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2024. The receiver will receive GNSS signals from the Galileo and GPS constellations for position, navigation and timing in orbit around the Moon. In addition the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will carry a laser retroreflector array for lunar laser ranging, and an X-Band radio transponder for ranging and communications.

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GGOS Coordinating Office Develops Film to Promote GeodesyRelease Date: 04/28/2022 The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) coordinating office has helped to organize a general ~8 minute video that explains geodesy, the geodetic observations and products that are available from the different IAG services, and the benefits of geodesy to science and society. The GGOS video so far is available in English, Spanish, German, French & Japanese. Check out the videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwqz097N2IY&list=PLIIfsJS7iAuxXGqq0YLAUO_m_06za9vqr

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The IERS ITRS Center at the IGN (Institut Géographique National, France) announced the availability of the ITRF2020 solution Release Date: 04/21/2022 On April 15, 2022, the IERS ITRS Center at the IGN (Institut Géographique National, France) announced the availability of the ITRF2020 solution at their dedicated web site:

https://itrf.ign.fr/en/solutions/ITRF2020

The new reference frame realization includes the contributions of all the IAG Geodetic Services (IVS, ILRS, IDS, IGS) and their Analysis Centers and Combination Centers. The ILRS contribution was based on a reprocessing of SLR data to the LAGEOS, LAGEOS-2 & the two Etalon satellites from 1993.0 to 2020.0 and to LAGEOS only from 1983.0 to 1993.0.

The ILRS ASC is working on an ILRS extended version, the SLRF2020, which will include the SLR stations that were not part of the ITRF2020 solution and will provide instructions on how to get the highest accuracy results when implementing this extended model in SLR data analysis.

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ILRS Stations Participate in Tracking Campaign for the IRNSS SatellitesRelease Date: 04/04/2022 From April 17- 30, 2022 at the request of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), the ILRS Central Bureau is organizing a tracking campaign for IRNSS, the Indian constellation of GNSS satellites. The objective is for the network to provide an even distribution of SLR normal points around the orbit, for the satellites that are the focus of the campaign. The IRNSS satellites are located in geosynchronous (24-hr) orbits over the Indian Ocean region and their ground track makes a 'figure-8' on the surface of the Earth.

During the current campaign (April 17- 30, 2022) ILRS stations in the Eastern Region of the Indian Ocean (Asia, Australia) will track IRNSS 1C plus IRNSS -1D. ILRS stations in the Western Region of the Indian Ocean (Europe, Africa) will track IRNSS 1C plus IRNSS- 1I. The IRNSS tracking data from the campaigns will be used to assess the performance of these IRNSS satellites, in a similar way to that used to validate the performance of other GNSS constellations such as Galileo.

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Call for Papers for IAG REFAG2022 MeetingRelease Date: 04/04/2022 The primary scope of REFAG 2022 is to address today's theoretical concepts of reference systems and their practical implementation by space geodetic techniques and their combination. Contributions for the meeting may include, global reference frames by individual space geodetic techniques and their combination; space geodetic measurements and mitigation of their systematic errors; geocenter motion and non-tidal loading effects; terrestrial and space geodetic ties for multi-technique combination; regional reference frames and related applications; Celestial reference frames; comparison and combination of Earth Orientation parameters; and use and challenges of geodetic reference frames for Earth science applications. The scientific program of the symposium will also cover initiatives and projects that endorse the role of geodetic reference frames for scientific exploration, sustainable development, climate monitoring, and satellite navigation.

Key Dates:

New ILRS Station (Izaña, IZ1L) in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) undergoing acceptance testingRelease Date: 03/28/2022 The new SLR station Izaña (IZ1L, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) is undergoing acceptance testing. The station is providing tracking data to LAGEOS-1, LAGEOS-2 and LARES which are being analyzed by the ILRS Analysis Standing Committee (ASC) to verify the performance prior to its acceptance as an operational station of the ILRS. The station Izaña (IZ1L) is built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by a consortium of European companies and institutes under the lead of DiGOS Potsdam GmbH (Germany). A recent article in the online space news periodical "spaceref.com" provides news of and a description of the station. (URL: http://spaceref.com/commercial-space/new-laser-station-lights-the-way-to-space-debris-reduction.html)

IAG Statement on UkraineRelease Date: 03/04/2022 The International Association of Geodesy, a parent organization of the IVS/ILRS, has posted a statement on Ukraine. Read the statement.

Updated list of Conferences and workshops related to earth rotation, reference frames, geophysical fluids, GNSS, SLR, VLBI, DORIS, etc. posted by the IERS

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