NASA's Next Generation SLR (formerly known as SLR2000) is an autonomous and eyesafe photon-counting Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station with an expected single shot range precision of about one centimeter and a normal point precision better than 3 mm. The system will provide continuous 24 hour tracking coverage of artificial satellites at altitudes up to 20, 000 Km. Replication costs are expected to be roughly an order of magnitude less than current operational systems, such as the NASA MOBLAS systems, and about 75% less expensive to operate and maintain relative to the manned systems. Computer simulations have predicted a daylight tracking capability to GPS and lower satellites with telescope apertures of 40 cm and have demonstrated the ability of our current autotracking algorithm to extract mean signal strengths as small as 0.0001 photoelectrons per pulse from solar background noise.

The following information is available about the NGSLR program:

• About NGSLR
• Recent news about NGSLR
• NGSLR components
• Publications related to NGSLR
• NGSLR photo gallery