Find ESA tracking stations
Map showing locations of ESA Tracking (Estrack) stations as of January 2013. Note this map is representational only and not all locations are shown with complete accuracy.
- Blue indicates core ESA-owned stations operated from ESA's Network Operations Centre, located at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.
- Orange indicates Augmented Estrack stations, procured commercially and operated on behalf of ESA by commercial entities.
- Green indicates Cooperative Estrack stations owned and operated by external agencies, but regularly providing services to ESA missions on an exchange basis.
Each ESA station hosts one or more terminals, each of which comprises an antenna and its associated radio signal processing equipment.
Stations are additionally equipped with sophisticated control systems, telecommunications, no-break power plants, control rooms and other infrastructure.
For routine operations, stations are operated remotely from the Network Operations Centre at ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany. They may be staffed by engineers during critical mission periods such as the Launch and Early Orbit (LEOP) Phase, planetary orbit entry or other manoeuvres.