Manual solutions for individual plates. These headers should be in svn, and they should only contain WCS keys. To obtain a calibration, use, e.g. aladin; see docs there. Once you have a calibration, in the "Astrometrical calibration" window, go to the "by WCS header" tab, select all content, and then, in this directory, say python lineToHeader.py .fits.manual and paste the header cards from the Aladin window. Don't forget to svn add your solution.