Satellite laser ranging station in Riga (Latvia)   SLRS-Riga_Panorama_autumn

1965: on the basis of the camera Tafo-AL-75 was built photographic camera  AFU-75  for satellite tracking (M.K. Abele and K.K. Lapushka). Camera has become the main tool of the USSR Academy of Sciences to conduct optical observations of satellites. These cameras have been installed in more than 30 countries around the world (Japan, India, Egypt, Somalia, Bolivia, French Guiana, Kerguelen Islands and New Amsterdam and other countries).

1969: was created camera of the FAS-3A specially designed for photographing active satellites (M.K. Abele and K.K. Lapushka).

1973: was installed the second instance of the Laser Rangefinder for satellite  "INTERKOSMOS" (LD-1). In 1972 year the first copy was installed in the observatory Ondrejov (CSSR). With this laser rangefinder was the beginning of the laser era in Latvia. In 1979, at the military topographic pilot plant in Riga it was made the first copy of a laser range finder LD-2 and was established in the territory of the Astronomical Observatory of the Latvian State University in the Botanical Garden. The first measurement took place June 7, 1979 with the laser ranging of the satellite the GEOS-3 . In 1985, at the same factory in Riga was made the first copy of the Laser Rangefinder LS-105 . The first measurements of the satellite LAGEOS-1 (6000 km) have been received 9 on September 1987 the year.