SLR targets are satellites equipped with corner cubes or retroreflectors. Currently, the global SLR network tracks over forty such satellites. The observable is the round-trip pulse time-of-flight to the satellite.
	SLR systems are equpped with short-pulse laser transmitters that can range to orbiting satellites. Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) systems can range to retroreflectors located on the moon.
	The current global SLR network consists of over forty systems, several of which are managed by NASA. During the past three decades, this network has evolved into a powerful source of data for studies of the solid Earth and its ocean and atmospheric systems. This map of SLR sites is also available in PDF form.

The International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) was formed to provide a service to support, through Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging data and related products, geodetic and geophysical research activities as well as IERS products important to the maintenance of an accurate International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). The service also develops the necessary standards/specifications and encourages international adherence to its conventions. The ILRS collects, merges, archives and distributes Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) observation datasets of sufficient accuracy to satisfy the objectives of a wide range of scientific, engineering, and operational applications and experimentation.

An excellent discussion on the history, science, and future of SLR can be found in the SLR Overview.

Some of the scientific results derived from SLR include:

• Detection and monitoring of tectonic plate motion, crustal deformation, Earth rotation, and polar motion
• Modeling of the spatial and temporal variations of the Earth's gravitational field
• Determination of basin-scale ocean tides
• Monitoring of millimeter-level variations in the location of the center of mass of the total Earth system (solid Earth-atmosphere-oceans)
• Establishment and maintenance of the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS)
• Detection and monitoring of post-glacial rebound and subsidence

In addition, SLR provides precise orbit determination for spaceborne radar altimeter missions mapping the ocean surface (which are used to model global ocean circulation), for mapping volumetric changes in continental ice masses, and for land topography. It provides a means for subnanosecond global time transfer, and a basis for special tests of the Theory of General Relativity.

Related SLR information and data links:

• International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS)
• Russian GLONASS home page
• GLONASS constellation status

A description of CDDIS SLR data sets is available.