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About the World Data Center for Satellite Information...

The World Data Center system is an international confederation of data centers originally established in 1955 to support the exchange and archiving of data generated by the 1957-8 International Geophysical Year. A more complete WDC description is available from the WDC Web Home Page maintained by NOAA/NGDC.

World Data Center for Satellite Information (formerly the World Data Center-A for Rockets & Satellites) is hosted by NASA's National Space Science Data Center. WDC SI has responsibilities for spacecraft launch and other descriptive information capture and dissemination. WDC SI serves as a conduit for requests from the international community for data from the NSSDC data archives.

The following WDC SI description was prepared in late 1995 for the latest WDC Guide:

WDC for Satellite Information
Mail Code 690.1
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD, 20771
USA

Director:
Edwin Grayzeck
Edwin.J.Grayzeck@nasa.gov
+1 301 286 7355

General Inquiries and Requests
Request Coordination Office
request@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov
+1 301 286 6695
+1 301 286 1635 (fax)

Maintained by: U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC).

Summary of data held: WDC SI holds information about rocket, satellite, and space probe launches, although information on rocket launches is no longer maintained current; satellite orbit elements and ephemerides; descriptions of spacecraft and experiments. NSSDC holds much data, mainly from NASA space science spacecraft, which are accessible to non-U.S. persons in offline form (CD-ROMs, tapes) by requests directed to WDC SI, and, for a subset of NSSDC holdings, electronically with no specific WDC SI involvement.

User services: Dissemination of spacecraft launch information, with newly assigned international identifiers, within days of launches; open to visitors during normal working hours (advanced notification recommended); passes international data requests to NSSDC for NSSDC-held data; online information about NSSDC data holdings at URL http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/, which links to the NSSDC Master Catalog and other data and services.

Publications: SPACEWARN Bulletin (URL: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/) which summarizes spacecraft launches monthly; detailed catalogs of NSSDC data holdings; databooks and CD-ROMs for selected NSSDC data.

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