Dissemination of Space Geodesy Data-Related Products Through a Virtual Observatory

Abstract:

This paper presents the astronomical so-called Virtual Observatory (VO), and gives some examples of Webservices hosted by GRGS Analysis Center webpages, that can be used for Earth sciences applications, and for stations operations (among them Satellite Laser Ranging Stations).

Astronomers using this VO are now organized within an international association called the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA), which was formed in June 2002 with a mission to "facilitate the international coordination and collaboration necessary for the development and deployment of the tools, systems and organizational structures necessary to enable the international utilization of astronomical archives."

GRGS, Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale, France, now routinely delivers geodetic products to most of the space geodetic services of the International Association of Geodesy. Some of these products are now natively archived following the data format recommended by IVOA, the VO-Table format, an improved version of the XML format. We pay a particular attention on (i) Space Station Coordinates time series deduced from SLR, DORIS and GPS data, (ii) EOP time series deduced from SLR and VLBI data, (iii) SLR station biases.