New Celestial Reference System (invited)

It is pointed out that the IAU (1976) System of Astronomical Constants, the FK5 and new lunar and planetary theories are being introduced in 1984. The investigation and planning for the transition have revealed the complex interdependencies between observational techniques and the reference systems and their strong link to the rotating and orbiting earth. Details for the conversion to the new system are given. The concepts for a future reference system are developed, based on separating the real motions involved in such a way that observations from various moving platforms can be related to the appropriate coordinate system without involving motions that are not intrinsically involved in the observations. As a consequence, the reference systems determined or used in space, while affected by aberration and parallax, would logically be defined with no dependence on precession, nutation, polar motion, or Universal Time, all of which are concerned with motions of the earth's surface.