ESA’s third Deep Space Ground Station in Argentina
By admin on June 29, 2009 at 5:32 pmEuropean Space Agency (ESA) will build its third deep space ground station in Argentina. Last week, ESA informed the Argentinean authorities about their plans to build a new 35-meter antenna in an area 30 km south of the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, about 1000 km west of Buenos Aires. Once completed, this antenna will provide 360-degree deep space coverage.
The decision, which is subject to successful completion of negotiations, is the result of several months of evaluation among 35 sites in both Chile and Argentina to establish ESA’s third deep space ground station as part of the ESA Tracking (ESTRACK) network.
But, why that site only? The Malargüe site is situated in a desert area, free from radio interference and with frequency usage guaranteed in the longer term by Argentina’s National Communications Commission.
ESA’s deep space network currently has two 35-meter tracking stations, one in Cebreros, Spain, and the other in New Norcia, Australia. The third station in Argentina will join these and the seven other 15m stations forming the core ESTRACK network.
The 600-tonne dish will complete the 360-degree deep space coverage needed to ensure full telecommunications during mission-critical events and enhance the return of scientific data. It is expected that the antenna will become operational from mid-2012.
Image: Deep Space Ground Station in Cebreros, Spain
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Category: Space | Tags: ESA, ESTRACK, Science, Space