German Space Control Center
The German Space Operations Center ( German Space Operations Center , GSOC ) is the Mission Control Center of the German Center for Aerospace (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen in Munich .
tasks
The GSOC performs the following tasks in national and international space travel:
- Operation of scientific satellites
- Operation of commercial satellites
- Manned space travel
- Expansion and operation of the communication infrastructure
- Research and development of new technologies in the field of space flight operations
The work of the GSOC is divided into two phases in which different tasks are dealt with:
Preparatory phase
- Mission analysis
- Tests (software and hardware together with satellites and simulator)
- Development of the ground station concept
Mission operation ( LEOP , commissioning phase, routine operation phase, decommissioning)
- Mission planning (creation of schedules at regular intervals, depending on the mission)
- Flight operations (commanding the satellite, monitoring the state of the satellite)
- Data reception and provision for the user community
Furnishing
Control rooms
At the moment (2019) at least eight control rooms are in operation:
- K1: Largest control room in the satellite control center; is mainly used for LEOP operation ( Launch and Early Orbit Phase ). Since the beginning of 2009 the K1 has been configured for the LEOP of the SATCOMBw mission. In December 2009 the room was completely refurbished. This completes the modernization of the control room for the four large control rooms. In 2012 the LEOP of TET-1 was carried out here, in 2018 the LEOP of EuCROPIS .
- K2 / K2a: Here, missions in multi-mission operations ( GRACE-FO , TerraSAR-X , ...) are accompanied or managed, e.g. B. Scientific missions that are controlled by the GSOC in continuous operation.
- K3 – K4: Columbus Mission Control Rooms of the Columbus Control Center
- K5 – K6: Above all, missions in multi-mission operations ( BIRD , GRACE , TerraSAR-X ) were accompanied or led, e.g. B. Scientific missions that are controlled by the GSOC in continuous operation.
- K7-K8: Are the control rooms for the commercial mission SATCOMBw , which operates two geostationary communication satellites in regular flight operations
- K10: Control room for the European Proximity Operations Simulator (EPOS)
- K11: Columbus Backup Mission Control Room
Ground station
- Weilheim ground station in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria ;
- Neustrelitz ground station in Neustrelitz ;
- GARS-O'Higgins ground station at Cape Legoupil ;
- Inuvik Satellite Station in Inuvik ;
history
Beginnings
After the Federal Republic of Germany had decided in the 1960s to launch a national space program and to get involved in international space projects, the idea of its own space control center became concrete. In 1967 the then Federal Finance Minister Franz Josef Strauss laid the foundation stone for the first building complex, which was opened a little later.
Focus on manned space travel (1985–1995)
Until 1985 , the Oberpfaffenhofen site of the then German Research and Experimental Institute for Aerospace (DFVLR) concentrated more and more on space travel. The manned space flight received special attention. During the mission: Indeed then GSOC accompanied two manned missions D-1 / STS-61-A GSOC in 1985 took over the (payload) control of the Spacelab , while the flight control continues from Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center of NASA was acquired. For the first time, the Payload Operation Control Center (POCC) of a US space mission was directed outside of NASA centers. This also means that for the first time a manned space flight was (partially) monitored from outside the USA or the Soviet Union. During this mission, the then Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss announced on November 5, 1985 an extensive investment program aimed at increasing Oberpfaffenhofen’s role in European space travel .
But the false start of an Ariane 3 in 1985 and the Challenger disaster in 1986 noticeably slowed down the development of the Oberpfaffenhofen location and thus that of the GSOC. Nevertheless, the GSOC also received a new building (today “Building 140”) through the investment program, the foundation stone of which was laid on April 4, 1989 .
With the mission D-2 / STS-55 in 1993, the GSOC accompanied the entire operation and had full payload control via the Spacelab. Thus, for the first time, there was unfiltered access to all data.
Reorientation (since 1995)
Not only the Challenger disaster slowed down the development of the GSOC. The permanently more difficult budget situation, which was made even worse by German reunification , caused national space travel ambitions to fade. The EUROMIR 95 ( Soyuz TM-2 ) mission was the last national mission, with payload control already being carried out on behalf of the European Space Agency .
In 2003, DLR was awarded the contract by ESA to build and control the Columbus module as a European contribution to the International Space Station . A dedicated Columbus control center was set up for this purpose and has been operational since 2005 .
One of the two Galileo Control Centers ( GCC ) for the European Galileo satellite navigation system is also located on the DLR site and is operated there by DLR Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtverarbeitung mbH - a commercial subsidiary of DLR e. V. - operated. Continuous operation is monitored together with the other Galileo control center, which is located in Fucino , Italy . As a first step, the operation of the Galileo test satellite GIOVE-A (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) was prepared together with Italy . The foundation stone for the new GCC building on the DLR site in Oberpfaffenhofen was laid on November 7, 2006 and the construction was handed over to the DLR in September 2009 for the configuration of the operating facilities.
Missions accompanied or for which the GSOC is responsible
Manned missions
| mission | year | Assignments / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Spacelab Payload (FSLP) | 1983 | Remote user center for the European material experimenters |
| D-1 ( STS 61-A ) | 1985 | Payload Operation Control Center (POCC) |
| MIR 92 | 1992 | supporting operational tasks; German cosmonaut Klaus-Dietrich Flade |
| D-2 ( STS-55 ) | 1993 | Payload Operation Control Center (POCC) |
| X-SAR 1 | 1994 | supporting operational tasks during two shuttle missions ( STS-59 , STS-68 ) |
| EUROMIR 95 ( Soyuz TM-2 ) | 1995 | supporting operational tasks; German cosmonaut Thomas Reiter |
| MIR 97 | 1997 | supporting operational tasks; German cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald |
| X-SAR / SRTM | 2000 | supporting operational tasks; German astronaut Gerhard Thiele |
| ISS-Eneide ( Soyuz TMA-6 , Soyuz TMA-5 ) | 2005 | supporting operational tasks; European astronaut Roberto Vittori ; first operational use of the Columbus control center |
| Astrolabe (ISS) ( STS-121 / STS-116 ) | 2006 | supporting operational tasks; European astronaut Thomas Reiter ; first long-term mission in the Columbus control center |
| ISS - Columbus ( STS-122 ) | 2008 | Mission control, operation of the European ISS communication network, support of the European astronauts and other ISS astronauts who work in the Columbus module |
Scientific missions
| mission | year | Assignments / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AZUR | 1969-1970 | Mission operations, network operations |
| AEROS 1 | 1972-1973 | Mission operations, control, monitoring |
| AEROS 2 | 1974-1975 | Mission operations, control, monitoring |
| HELIOS 1 | 1974-1986 | Mission operations, control, monitoring |
| HELIOS 2 | 1976-1981 | Mission operations, control, monitoring |
| AMPTE | 1984-1986 | LEOP / Mission operations, reception, processing and archiving of the data received from GSOC |
| GALILEO | 1989-2003 | Mission support in preparation and operation for the "Attitude and trajectory correction" maneuvers; Analysis and performance monitoring of the Retro-Propulsion Module at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena . |
| ROSAT | 1990-1999 | LEOP / mission operations, reception, processing and archiving of the data received from the GSOC ground station Weilheim |
| EQUATOR-S | 1997-1998 | Mission operation |
| MOMS-2P | 1997-1998 | Payload Operation Control Center (POCC) |
| CHAMP | 2000-2010 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| BIRD | 2001-2006 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| GRACE | 2002-2018 | LEOP / mission operation for both GRACE satellites |
| TerraSAR-X | since 2007 | LEOP / Mission Operation Note: TerraSAR-X is also 50% a commercial mission in a public-private partnership (PPP) with the company Infoterra |
| TanDEM-X | since 2010 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| TET-1 | since 2012 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| BIROS | since 2016 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| PAZ | 2018 | LEOP |
| GRACE-FO | since 2018 | LEOP / Mission Operations, successor to GRACE |
| EuCROPIS | since 2018 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| CubeL | from 2019 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
| EnMAP | from 2021 | LEOP / Mission Operations |
Commercial missions
| mission | year | Assignments / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SYMPHONY A | 1974-1984 | Mission operations (alternating with the French control center) |
| SYMPHONY B | 1975-1984 | Mission operations (alternating with the French control center) |
| TV-Sat 1 | 1987-1989 | Positioning the TV satellite and troubleshooting the non-deployable solar panel, as well as further tests to ensure the success of the TV-SAT 2 mission; then the satellite is placed in cemetery orbit |
| TV-Sat 2 | 1989-1990 | Positioning of the television satellite , handover to the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom in 1990 |
| DFS Copernicus 1 | 1989-1990 | Positioning of the communications satellite , handed over to Deutsche Bundespost Telekom in 1990 |
| DFS Copernicus 2 | 1990-1991 | Positioning of the communications satellite, 1991 handover to the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom |
| DFS Copernicus 3 | 1992 | Positioning of the communications satellite, handed over to the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom in 1992 |
| Eutelsat II-F1 | 1990 | Positioning of the communications satellite, 1990, 17 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat II-F2 | 1991 | Positioning of the communications satellite, 1991, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat II-F3 | 1991 | Positioning of the communications satellite, 1991, two weeks after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat II-F4 | 1992 | Positioning of the communication satellite, 1992, 11 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Hot Bird 1 | 1995 | Positioning of the communications satellite, 1995, 10 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat W2 | 1998 | Positioning of the communications satellite, October 19, 1998, 14 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat W3 | 1999 | Positioning of the communications satellite, April 27, 1999, 15 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris; Hot Standby "phase until May 27, 1999 |
| Eutelsat W4 | 2000 | Positioning of the communication satellite, June 9, 2000, 15 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris; Hot Standby "Phase A until July 9, 2000 |
| Eutelsat W1R / EuroBird 1 | 2001 | Positioning of the communication satellite, 2001, 10 days after launch, handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat Hot Bird 6 | 2002 | Positioning of the communication satellite, 2002 handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| Eutelsat W5 | 2002 | Positioning of the communication satellite, 2002 handover to the EUTELSAT Satellite Control Center Paris |
| SAR magnifying glass 1-5 | 2006-2008 | LEOP of the 5 SAR-Lupe satellites, handover to the SAR-Lupe control center of the Bundeswehr a few weeks after launch |
| GIOVE-B | 2008 | Mission operation together with the Italian Galileo Control Center in Fucino |
| SATCOMBw | since 2009 | LEOP / Mission operation of two communication satellites of the Bundeswehr |
| EDRS-A | since 2015 | In-orbit test and routine operation of the EDRS-A payload on board the Eutelsat 9B |
| EDRS-C | from 2019 | LEOP and routine operation of the EDRS-C satellite |
literature
- Matthias founder: Lexicon of manned space travel. With the collaboration of Karl-Heinz Ingenhaag and Horst Hoffmann . Lexikon Imprint Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-287-3 .
- Thomas Uhlig, Florian Sellmaier, Michael Schmidhuber (eds.): Spacecraft Operations . Springer-Verlag Vienna, 2015, ISBN 978-3-7091-1802-3 .
Web links
- GSOC website
- Geostationary satellites positioned by GSOC
- Carina Seeburg: Oberpfaffenhofen please come! Article in the Starnberg local edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, accessed on December 27, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ^ Andreas Schöwe: Mission Space Shuttle . Bechtermünz Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-8289-5357-3 , p. 121 .
Coordinates: 48 ° 5 ′ 14.5 " N , 11 ° 16 ′ 53" E