The NOAA CORS Network (NCN): A brief history and current status

The United States Department of Commerce’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) assembles and manages the multi-purpose, multi-agency, cooperative, GPS/GNSS continuously operating reference station (CORS) network called the NOAA CORS Network (NCN). The NCN is a cooperative effort of more than 200 federal, state, academic, and private organizations, providing publicly accessible GPS/GNSS data from more than 2000 CORS, supporting post-processed positioning activities throughout the United States and its territories. 98% of these stations are owned and maintained by NCN partners. The contributing partners freely share their GNSS measurements and station information with NGS in accordance with NGS’s guidelines. NGS analyzes and archives the NCN data, and distributes it free of charge.