ILRS Station Status
A laser ranging station in the ILRS network has one of two possible statuses, Associate and Operational. New stations will be accepted in Associate status by the Central Bureau upon submission of ILRS Station Response form.
Associate stations will become Operational by:
- submitting a valid site log;
- delivering at least 50 passes of satellite data to the CB;
- passing format and data integrity validation by the CB;
- passing data evaluation by the Analysis Working Group including:
- submitting at least 20 good LAGEOS-1, and -2 and LARES passes within a 60 day sliding window;
- normal point RMS of 1 cm (Shanghai Criteria);
- short term range bias stability of 4 cm (twice Shanghai Criteria); and
- normal point acceptance rate of 80%;
- A more detailed explanation of the evaluation is included in the discussion on ILRS station qualification;
- having a collocated IGS Station or a continuously operating GPS receiver that fulfills the IGS requirements for data acquisition and delivery and having submitted a request for its inclusion in the IGS Network;
- receiving approval from the Governing Board.
To remain Operational Status, stations must have:
- submitted at least 50 LAGEOS-1, and -2 and LARES passes that satisfy the rms, short-term stability, and acceptance criteria above within a consecutive 3-month period during the previous 12 months;
- maintain an up-to-date site log; and
- a collocated GPS receiver as qualified above.
Stations that do not satisfy the above criteria will be given Associate Status. Operational/Associate status will be indicated on the Quarterly Report Cards issued by ILRS CB.
