The international satellite and lunar laser ranging community has recently been organized into an International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) to support a wide range of geodetic, geophysical, and lunar research activities and to provide the International Earth Rotation Services (IERS) with timely, high quality products important to the maintenance of an accurate International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). Modeled in part after the IGS, the ILRS service will develop the standards and specifications necessary for product accuracy and consistency and will encourage international adherence to its conventions. The ILRS collects, merges, evaluates, analyzes, archives and distributes laser ranging data to a wide user community and encourages the application of new technologies and methodologies to enhance the quality, quantity, applicability, and cost effectiveness of its data products.

The ILRS is organized into permanent components: (1) a Governing Board, (2) a Central Bureau, (3) Tracking Stations and Subnetworks, (4) Operations Centers, (5) Global and Regional Data Centers, and (6) Analysis and Associate Analysis Centers. The Governing Board has broad international representation from the SLR and LLR communities and provides overall guidance and sets policy. The Central Bureau oversees the daily service activities and facilitates communications between the various elements. In addition, standing and ad-hoc working groups provide key operational and technical expertise to: resolve technical and scientific issues, better exploit current capability, and challenge the ILRS participants to keep pace with evolving user needs.

This paper will discuss the formation and organization of the ILRS, some of the key changes anticipated in the laser ranging service to its users, and some of the initial activities and tracking campaigns that have been underway since the inception of the service in late 1998.