ESTRACK

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The 35 m antenna of the ESTRACK Deep Space Network ( DSA 2 ), 2010, in Cebreros , Spain.

Under the name ESTRACK ( ESA tracking stations ), the European space agency ESA operates a network of radio stations that are used to communicate with satellites and space probes . The worldwide distribution of the stations ensures that a spacecraft can always establish radio communication with at least one station.

The space missions that were or will be controlled via ESTRACK include a. Herschel , Planck , Venus Express , Mars Express , ExoMars , Rosetta , Gaia , BepiColombo , LISA Pathfinder , Solar Orbiter , Euclid and JUICE .

Ground stations

ESTRACK essentially consists of seven ground stations that connect the spacecraft to the European Space Control Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt . Four stations in Kourou, Kiruna, Redu and Santa Maria with antenna diameters of 5.5 to 15 meters are for the rapid tracking of spacecraft in the launch phase and in near-earth orbits. Tracking requires comparatively small and quickly moving antennas. Three stations for communication in deep space are equipped with large antennas. There are three stations in Europe, one in Australia, two on the South American continent and one in the middle of the Atlantic. The network can monitor the LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) after rocket launches from the Center Spatial Guyanais in Kourou . The Galliot and Diane tracking facilities in Korou are also in operation during the take-offs.

A 15 m antenna was built in Villafranca in 1975 as the first antenna in the network. The functions of the station in Perth were taken over by the New Norcia station in 2015, which was given an additional 4.5 m antenna for fast tracking. The antennas from Villafranca and Maspalomas were given to commercial operators and are no longer in operation by ESTRACK.

Deep Space Antennas (DSA)

In 1998 the ESA decided to set up its own network for "operations in deep space " (English called deep space missions ) with 35 m parabolic antennas in order to keep pace with the planned future interplanetary missions and no longer be dependent on the Deep Space Network (DSN) to be NASA . Three 35 m antennas were positioned around the globe at a distance of around 120 ° each so that continuous communication with distant spacecraft is possible despite the earth's rotation. Two of the three stations are located in the southern hemisphere, as the northern hemisphere is already very well covered with large antennas from various other space agencies and optimally complements them.

DSA 1 , 2010

The first station, DSA 1 , was built in New Norcia in 2002 , followed by DSA 2 in Cebreros in 2005 and DSA 3 in Malargüe in 2012 . On November 19, 2009, an agreement was signed with the Argentine state that guarantees the construction and operation of the station in Malargüe for 50 years. The agreement obliges the Argentine state to provide services; in return, ten percent of the antenna time is made available for national scientific projects. All three antennas are state-of-the-art Cassegrain beam wave guide antennas, in which the received signals are directed through a hole in the primary mirror and various reflectors into the substructure of the antenna, where the corresponding receivers and transmitters are kept ready. The reception quality has been improved by receivers cooled to −258 ° Celsius to such an extent that the performance of the 35 m antennas corresponds to that of 40 m antennas. The systems are equipped with a hydrogen maser atomic clock for high-precision time recording . All stations support Delta DOR (Delta Differential One-way Range), a technology for precise location of a spacecraft, with which the position can be determined with an accuracy of 1 meter using two antennas and the speed can be determined to 0.1 mm / s GPS-TDAF (GPS Tracking and Data Analysis Facility) for precise positioning. All antennas have 2 and 20 kW transmission systems and have an uninterruptible power supply in the event that the public power grid fails. The station in New Norcia got a field with solar cells since 2015, which was completed in August 2017. With an output of 250 kW, it should produce 470 MWh of electricity per year and cover around 40% of the annual electricity demand. All stations are equipped with systems for radio astronomy and can participate in radio astronomical research e.g. B. participate in VLBI .

With these three antennas, ESA can support interplanetary missions independently of the DSN. The Gaia mission produces a lot of data and would not have been possible without ESA's own antenna network. The reception capacities of the stations were specially increased for this mission. The most distant signal received by the DSA came from the Cassini mission at a distance of 1.44 billion kilometers. In April 2017 it was announced that Malargüe will be equipped with new technology for four million euros. The work lasted two years and resulted in revised signal processing and additional reception in the 26 GHz range. On January 30, 2020, the station in New Norcia was able to communicate simultaneously with the two missions Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) for the first time. It was broadcast on two different frequencies at the same time.

Future expansion

The growing need for antenna capacity led to a contract with Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, the operator of Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station . There, € 9.5 million are to be invested and the 32-meter antenna is to be expanded into a deep space antenna with the help of ESA. According to this information, the antenna should be in operation as the first commercial deep space station around mid-2020.

In 2019, tests were carried out to use the 30-meter antenna of the Weilheim ground station as an additional deep-space antenna to expand reception capacities. The technology would have to be modernized and expanded, and the antenna, which has only had receivers for a long time, could be equipped with a transmitter. The system is designed and certified for deep space communication and was used in the past to support various deep space missions.

According to the planning, the stations in Malargue and Cebreros are to be equipped with receivers in the 26 GHz band. The Gaia mission transmits at 10 Mb / s, the Euclid mission will achieve a data rate of 149 Mb / s and the facilities and data networks must be expanded accordingly. An 80 kW transmitter is currently being developed and should be ready for use in 2024. In New Norcia, another 35-meter antenna is to further increase the reception capacity.

Antennas of the ESTRACK network 2018
(Deep Space Antennas (DSA) highlighted in green)
Name-giving place 1 designation diameter

(Meter)

Up Down option Remarks
New Norcia , Australia NNO1, (DSA 1) 350 S, X S, X Ka down Beam wave guide antenna, weight 580 t ( 31 ° 2 ′ 52.8 ″  S , 116 ° 11 ′ 31.2 ″  O ). Since June 1, 2019, the station has been maintained by CSIRO on behalf of ESA. An application has been made to add a further 35 meter antenna for a future Lagrange mission.
NNO2 4.5 X S, X This small and easily maneuverable antenna for fast tracking was built to take over the tasks of the Perth station. The antenna has an extended field of view to find objects in the starting phase, even if the exact position is not known. It can localize a radio source and helps to precisely align the large antenna.
DSA 4 350 Planned 35 meter antenna. The construction work should be finished in 2023 and operations should start in mid-2024 in order to be ready for the JUICE and HERA missions.
Kiruna ground station in Kiruna , Sweden KI1 15th0 S. S, X ( 67 ° 51 ′ 25.2 ″  N , 20 ° 57 ′ 50.4 ″  E )
KI2 130 S. S, X
European Space Safety and Education Center in Redu , Belgium REDU-1 15th0 S. S. The Redu station has 43 movable antennas in different sizes and frequency ranges (S, Ku, Ka, L, C band), some of them for test purposes. The ground station can serve as a backup for ESOC and investigates space weather . In Redu there is ESEC, the European space Security and Education Center.
REDU-2 13.5 Ka Ka
REDU-3 2.4 S. S.
90 S. S.
3.8 Ku Ku Six antennas
9.3 C. C.
20th0 L. L.
Pastel Mission Control Communication with satellites via laser
Cebreros , Spain CEB (DSA 2) 350 X X, Ka Ka up Height 40 m, weight 450 t, costs 30 million euros. ( 40 ° 27 ′ 10.8 ″  N , 4 ° 22 ′ 4.8 ″  W )
Santa Maria , Azores , Portugal SMA 5.5 S, X first ESTRACK station capable of monitoring medium- inclination rockets launched from the Guiana Space Center . Perth's 15-meter antenna is to be rebuilt here, thereby improving the station's tracking capabilities. ( 36 ° 59 ′ 50.1 ″  N , 25 ° 8 ′ 8.6 ″  W )
Kourou , French Guiana KRU 15th0 S, X S, X MASER system for tracking the trajectories of launched missiles, checking communications with satellites before launch. A 1.3 meter antenna with an X-band receiver serves as a tracking aid. ( 5 ° 15 ′ 3.6 ″  N , 52 ° 48 ′ 18 ″  W )
Malargüe , Argentina MLG (DSA 3) 350 X X, Ka Ka up
K down 		Location at 1550 m above sea level, height 40 m, weight 610 t. The location was deliberately chosen in the southern hemisphere because there are already a large number of large antennas in the northern hemisphere ( 35 ° 46 ′ 33.6 ″  S , 69 ° 23 ′ 52.8 ″  W )


Former antennas of the ESTRACK network
Name-giving place 1 designation diameter Up Down option Remarks
Maspalomas , Africa 15 m S. S, X X up Station on Gran Canaria, Spain ( 27 ° 45 ′ 46.8 ″  N , 15 ° 38 ′ 2.4 ″  W ). In 2017 the station was handed over to INTA , but continues to work for ESA.
Perth , Australia 15 m S. S, X The station in Perth was taken offline in 2015. The populated area came closer and closer to the antenna, which resulted in increasing problems from interfering radio signals, and the operating license was not extended any further. The tasks were taken over in New Norcia or given to commercial satellite operators in Dongara. The 15-meter antenna is to be dismantled and the Santa Maria station in the Azores is to be expanded with it. ( 31 ° 48 ′ 10.8 ″  S , 115 ° 53 ′ 6 ″  E )
Villafranca del Castillo , Spain VIL-1 15 m S. S. VIL-1 is temporarily out of operation and is to be used in the future for Cooperation for Education in Science and Astronomy Research (CESAR) for the training of students at European universities. ( 40 ° 26 ′ 24 ″  N , 3 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W )
VIL-2 15 m S. S. VIL-2 was the only antenna in operation in 2017. Villafranca is the location for the ESAC mission center for various missions with the appropriate computing capacity . The antenna was handed over at the end of 2017 and is no longer operated by ESTRACK.
VIL-4 12 m C, X C, X, Ka Initially built for operation in C-band, then used for technology tests for reception in X- and Ka-band and transmission in X-band, dismantled in 2015.
1 The stations are typically a few dozen kilometers from the eponymous location.


  • New Norcia has a solar generator

  • Main antenna from New Norcia

  • The 4.5 meter antenna for fast tracking in New Norcia

International cooperation

ESTRACK shares its capacities with other space organizations and networks, which in turn provide capacities for ESA missions. Such networks are e.g. B. ASI (Italy), CNES (France), DLR (Germany), the DSN of NASA, the Goddard Space Flight Center , the 64-meter antenna of the Usuda Deep Space Center operated by JAXA (Japan) and the telemetry, tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) of the Indian space agency ISRO . ESTRACK supported missions from China and Russia and the landing of NASA rovers on Mars.

Stations with which there are cooperation agreements are in Poker Flat , Goldstone , Madrid , Weilheim , Esrange , Hartebeesthoek , Malindi , Kerguelen , Usuda, Masuda, Canberra .

ESTRACK can take over functions of the DSN or vice versa. Both networks can support each other in emergencies, interconnect antennas and exchange data with each other. An agreement for general mutual support was concluded between NASA and ESA on March 21, 2007.

The cooperation enables increased workload, mutual support in emergencies, more flexibility and expansion of scientific income for everyone. In order to facilitate the international cooperation of the tracking devices, the ESA urges the development and application of internationally recognized standards for data exchange. All systems comply with the provisions of the CCSDS .

ESTRACK (world)
Perth
Perth
New Norcia
New Norcia
Maspalomas
Maspalomas
Kiruna
Kiruna
Redu
Redu
Cebreros et al. Villafranca
Cebreros et al. Villafranca
Santa Maria
Santa Maria
Kourou
Kourou
Malargüe
Malargüe
ESOC
ESOC
ESTRACK ground stations: Red pog.svgstations for fast tracking, Green pog.svgdeep space antennas, Blue pog.svgESOC, Black pog.svgformer stations

Complementary network

In addition to ESA's own antennas, there is a complementary network of commercial satellite stations that provide services for the network through contracts. These antennas are usually operated by various national space agencies. These stations are mainly used during the LEOP phase after rocket launches, when the existing network is insufficient, and are for satellites that have orbits over the poles. These stations are used at other times by commercial satellite operators and other space agencies.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d esa: Estrack ground stations . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  2. ↑ a b c d esa: Transferring ownership of three ESA ground stations . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed January 8, 2018]).
  3. ^ Esa: Going green to the Red Planet . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed January 5, 2018]).
  4. ↑ esa: ESA boosting its Argentine link with deep space . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed August 29, 2017]).
  5. ^ Doing up the deep dish. Retrieved May 16, 2019 (UK English).
  6. ^ First time controlling two spacecraft with one dish. Retrieved March 28, 2020 (English).
  7. ↑ esa: Goonhilly goes deep space . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed August 1, 2018]).
  8. ↑ esa: ESA and DLR in joint study to support deep space missions. Accessed July 6, 2019 .
  9. ^ Doing up the deep dish. Retrieved December 26, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b Super-cool addition to deep space family. Retrieved December 26, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b c esa: New Norcia - DSA 1 . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed August 27, 2017]).
  12. ^ Esa: New era for New Norcia deep space antenna. Retrieved July 6, 2019 (UK English).
  13. ↑ esa: Lagrange mission. Retrieved July 6, 2019 (UK English).
  14. ↑ esa: Kiruna station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  15. ↑ esa: Redu station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  16. ↑ esa: Cebreros - DSA 2 . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  17. ↑ esa: Santa Maria station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  18. ↑ a b esa: Recycling a space antenna . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed August 27, 2017]).
  19. ↑ esa: Kourou station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  20. ↑ esa: Malargüe - DSA 3 . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  21. ↑ esa: Maspalomas station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  22. ↑ a b esa: Villafranca station . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed May 14, 2017]).
  23. ↑ ESA completes European Deep Space Network (picture) | heise online. Retrieved August 27, 2017 .
  24. ^ Esa: ESA and NASA extend ties with major new cross-support agreement . In: European Space Agency . ( esa.int [accessed August 29, 2017]).