SATELLITE LASER RANGING AND

EARTH SCIENCE

Current constellation of satellites supported by SLR

NASA SPACE GEODESY PROGRAM

SATELLITELASERRANGING
In Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) a global network of stations
measure the instantaneous round trip time of flight of ultrashort
pulses of light to satellites equipped with special reflectors. This
provides instantaneous range measurements of millimeter level
precision which can be accumulated to provide accurate orbits
and a host of important science products.

SatelliteLaserRangingisaprovengeodetictechniquewithsignificantpotentialfor

importantcontributionstoscientificstudiesoftheEarth/Atmosphere/Oceanssystem.

SLRisthemostaccuratetechniquecurrentlyavailabletodeterminethegeocentricposition
ofanEarthsatellite,allowingfortheprecisecalibrationofradaraltimetersandseparation
oflongterminstrumentationdriftfromsecularchangesinoceantopography.

SLRsabilitytomeasurethetemporalvariationsintheEarthsgravityfieldandtomonitor

motionofthestationnetworkwithrespecttothegeocenter,togetherwiththecapabilityto
monitorverticalmotioninanabsolutesystem,makesituniqueformodelingandevaluating
longtermclimatechangeby:
Providingareferencesystemforpostglacialrebound,sealevelandicevolume
change
DeterminingthetemporalmassredistributionofthesolidEarth,ocean,and
atmospheresystem
Monitoringtheresponseoftheatmospheretoseasonalvariationsinsolarheating.

SLRprovidesauniquecapabilityforverificationofthepredictionsoftheTheoryof
GeneralRelativity.

SLRstationsformanimportantpartoftheinternationalnetworkofspacegeodetic
observatories,whichincludeVLBI,GPS,DORISandPRAREsystems.

Onseveralcriticalmissions,SLRhasprovidedfailsaferedundancywhenother
radiometrictrackingsystemshavefailed.

ThecosteffectivenessofSLRoperationsareimprovingthroughincreasedstandardization,
configurationcontrol,andautomation.NASAisvigorouslypursuingthedevelopmentof
SLR2000,astandalone,lowcost,subcentimeterSLRsystem.

The International Laser Ranging Service has been formed by the global SLR community
to enhance geophysical and geodetic research activities (ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov).

SLRCONTRIBUTIONTOEARTHSCIENCE
LaserrangingtoanearEarth
satellitewasinitiatedbyNASA
in1964withthelaunchofthe
BeaconBsatellite.Sincethat
time,rangingprecision,spurred
byscientificrequirements,has
improvedbyafactorofa
thousandfromafewmeterstoa
fewmillimeters.

Duringthepastthreedecades,theglobalSatelliteLaserRanging(SLR)networkhasevolved
intoapowerfulsourceofdataforstudiesofthesolidEarthanditsoceanandatmospheric
systems.Inaddition,SLRprovidespreciseorbitdeterminationforspaceborneradaraltimeter
missionsmappingtheoceansurface(whichareusedtomodelglobaloceancirculation),for
mappingvolumetricchangesincontinentalicemasses,andforlandtopography.Itprovidesa
meansforsubnanosecondglobaltimetransfer,andabasisforspecialtestsoftheTheoryof
GeneralRelativity.

SLRSUPPORTSTHESTUDYOFTHE
ATMOSPHEREHYDROSPHERECRYOSPHERE
SOLIDEARTHSYSTEM

Twenty-five years of SLR data has provided the standard, highly accurate, long wavelength
gravity field reference model which supports all precision orbit determination and provides the
basis for studying temporal gravitational variations due to mass redistribution. Theheightofthe
geoidhasbeendeterminedtolessthantencentimetersatlongwavelengthslessthan1500km.Thirty
secondmeangravityanomaliesfromtheEGM96modelshowthefinedetail.

Fromtemporalchangesin
thegravityfield,SLR
measurestheeffectsofmass
redistributioninthetotal
Earthsystem.Adecadeof
SLRdeterminedmonthly
valuesofthesecondzonal
harmonicoftheEarths
gravityprovideindependent
verificationofthemass
redistributionimpliedby
globalatmospheric
circulationmodelsusedto

predictglobalclimate
change.

SLRSUPPORTS
DIRECTSENSINGOFSURFACEELEVATIONS

SLRprovidesdirect,unambiguous
measurementofaltimetersatellite
heightandpermitseffective
separationofaltimetersystemdrift
fromlongperiodoceantopography
changesatthesubcmlevel.This
calibrationisessentialforthe
measurementofglobalmeansea
levelchangesofafewmm/yrand
themappingoficefieldtopography
usedtoestimateicevolume
changes.

Satellitealtimeters
wereusedto
computethecotidal
mapofthemain
lunarM2tide.
Understandingthe
natureoftidal
dissipationand
oceanbottom
frictionrequiresa
moredetailed
knowledgeof
oceantides.Better
tidemodelsarealso
requiredtosupport
oceantidalloading
modelsneededto
analyzeprecise
gravimetry.

SLR CONTRIBUTES TO SEA AND ICE LEVEL

MONITORING
SLRcontributestothemonitoring
ofsealevelchangeintwoways.
First,bysupplyingtrackingdatafor
orbitdetermination,SLRassures
excellentradialorbitalknowledge
ofaltimetersatellites.Second,by
improvingknowledgeofmm/yr
levelsecularchangesintheheight
ofcoastalobservingsites,SLR
helpstoresolveambiguitiesinthe
tidegaugerecord.Variationsin
meansealevelfrom
TOPEX/Poseidonmatchsea
surfacetemperaturemeasurements
whichindicateElNinoSouthern
Oscillationevents.

The topography
(and its changes) of
the Earths ice
sheets are mapped
using satellite
altimeters and
precision orbits
based on SLR and
SLR-based force
models.

SLR Measures the Long Term Dynamics of

the Solid Earth, Oceans and Atmosphere

SLR
determinationsof
theEarthsrotation
andorientation
revealchangesin
thedistributionof
massandexchange
ofangular
momentumintotal
Earthsystem.

SLRdeterminationofthe
changesinthegeocentric
heightofstationscoupled
withdeterminationofthe
motionofthestation
networkwithrespectto
thegeocenteratthefew
mmlevelprovidesa
referenceforstudiesof
sealevelvariationsand
postglacialrebound.The
apparentchangesinthe
XandYcomponentsof
thegeocentercanbe
monitoredatthe
millimeterlevel.

SLRSUPPORTSSTUDYOFTECTONICMOTION
SLRprovidesmm/yraccuratedeterminationsofstationmotiononaglobalscaleinageocentric
referenceframe.CombinedwithgravitymodelsanddecadalchangesinEarthrotation,these
resultscontributetomodelingofconvectionintheEarthsmantlebyprovidingconstraintson
relatedEarthinteriorprocesses.ThevelocityofthefiducialstationinHawaiiis70mm./yearand
closelymatchestherateofthebackgroundgeophysicalmodel.

Thehorizontal
motionofaglobal
networkofSLR
sitesinthe
Mediterraneanhas
shedcritical
insightintothe
natureof
contemporary
platetectonics.

SLR SUPPORTS RESEARCH IN

FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS
LLRtrackingofcornercuberetroreflectorsonthe
moonhasverifiedtheEquivalencePrincipleofGeneral
Relativity.SLRmeasurementsLAGEOS1and2have
measuredtheLenseThirringdragofthereference
frame.AthirdLAGEOStypesatellitehasbeen
proposedforrelativitystudies.

SLRmeasurementsof
Lageoshaveprovidedthe
mostaccurate
measurementofGM,the
productofthe
gravitationalconstantand
themassoftheEarth,and
haveconfirmedthatit
doesnotchangesecularly.

The speeds between SLR

stations on stable plate interiors
helped to support the tectonic
plate model based on a revised
paleomagnetic time scale.

SLROPERATIONSARESTEADILYIMPROVING

SLRdatayieldhasimproved
through:

Realtimedataprocessing,
Satellitepassinterleaving,
Systemupgrades,
Additionaloperating,and
AdditionalSatellites.

TheCrustalDynamicsData
InformationSystem(CDDIS),located
atNASAGSFC,isthemain
repositoryfortheglobalspace
geodesydataset,whichisalso
availablefromtheEuropeanData
CenterinGermany.TheSLRdataare
providedviaelectronicaccessand/or
magnetictape.

SLRTECHNOLOGYISRAPIDLYADVANCING
Missionsupportby
theSLRNetworkhas
expanded
dramaticallyinrecent
years,andtheneed
forSLRwillcontinue
togrowinthefuture.
Avarietyofgeodetic
andgeodynamic
missionsareplanned,
aswellas
applicationsinEarth
sensingandsatellite
positioning.

NASA's next generation SLR

station, currently under
development, is fully
automated, unmanned,
inherently eyesafe, and will
operate 24 hours a day to
the full suite of artificial
satellites. The SLR2000
design is expected to greatly
reduce station construction,
operating and engineering
maintenance costs. The low
energy, high repetition rate,
photon counting approach
represents a quantum
technological leap over prior
low repetition rate, high
signal-to-noise ratio designs.