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    ESA > Our Activities > Operations > Estrack

    Goonhilly

    Goonhilly

    Operations image of the week: A large radio dish at Goonhilly, UK, once used for TV broadcasts, will communicate with deep-space craft
    Tinkerer’s lab

    Tinkerer’s lab

    ESA’s mission control centre hosts a unique laboratory where engineers tinker with hardware and software to ensure these can support missions in space, where consequences matter.
    Going green

    Going green

    Operations image of the week: ESA’s deep-space ground station at New Norcia, Western Australia, is now being powered in part by sunlight
    Ghostly green

    Ghostly green

    Operations image of the week: ESA’s deep-space dish in Australia sports a haunting green glow
    Parting views

    Parting views

    Cassini’s last look around Saturn’s neighbourhood before concluding its 13-year journey of discovery
    Grand finale

    Grand finale

    How to follow the last hours of the Cassini–Huygens mission as the spacecraft plunges into Saturn's atmosphere
    Hello, Darmstadt?

    Hello, Darmstadt?

    Watch our new video: 50 years of mission control in #Darmstadt #ESOC50
    Archive

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    Goonhilly’s GHY-6 antenna was built in 1985 and features a 32 m-diameter dish - it will be upgraded under ESA technical oversight to provide high bit-rate data links for future deep-space missions

    Goonhilly goes deep space22 February 2018

    Goonhilly’s GHY-6 antenna was built in 1985 and features a 32 m-diameter dish - it will be upgraded under ESA technical oversight to provide high bit-rate data links for future deep-space missions

    Goonhilly goes deep space22 February 2018 Until now, if you’re an entrepreneur planning future missions beyond Earth, you’d have to ask a big space agency to borrow their deep-space antennas. Now, thanks to the UK’s county of Cornwall and ESA, you’ll have a commercial option, too.

    Going green to the Red Planet28 November 2017

    Going green to the Red Planet28 November 2017 ESA’s ground station in Western Australia routinely communicates with spacecraft at far-away places like Mars. Now, it’s using sunlight to generate electricity, significantly reducing energy costs.

    On 19 May 1975, the ground station at Villafranca del Castillo, Spain, originally built for the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite, was assigned to ESRO to support future ESA missions.

    Transferring ownership of three ESA ground stations16 November 2017

    On 19 May 1975, the ground station at Villafranca del Castillo, Spain, originally built for the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite, was assigned to ESRO to support future ESA missions.

    Transferring ownership of three ESA ground stations16 November 2017 As part of ESA’s strategy to foster commercial competitiveness in Europe while focusing on its core aims, the agency has transferred ownership of several ground tracking stations for reuse by external organisations. 

    Low-cost clocks for landing on the Moon 26 October 2017

    Low-cost clocks for landing on the Moon 26 October 2017 A European clock accurate to a trillionth of a second is set to be used on satellites and missions to the Moon. The ultra-precise time-keeper was conceived by a small company in Latvia, and ESA has recognised its potential for space. “We are the Fer...

    Cassini concludes pioneering mission at Saturn15 September 2017

    Cassini concludes pioneering mission at Saturn15 September 2017 The international Cassini mission has concluded its remarkable exploration of the Saturnian system in spectacular style, by plunging into the gas planet’s atmosphere.

    Celebrating Europe’s science highlights with Cassini06 September 2017

    Celebrating Europe’s science highlights with Cassini06 September 2017 The international Cassini­-Huygens mission has explored Saturn and its rings and moons for 13 years, and will conclude by plunging into the planet’s atmosphere next week. This article highlights some of the mission’s exciting discoveries led by Europe...

    News Archive

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    • Estrack profile video
      Estrack profile video
      Estrack profile videoLinking people with spacecraft at the frontiers of human knowledge: ESA ground stations communicate with spacecraft orbiting Earth or voyaging deep in space
    • Technology for future exploration
      Technology for future exploration
      Technology for future explorationESA operates one of the world's most sophisticated tracking networks - stations can locate spacecraft to an accuracy within 1 kilometre at 100 million kilometers
    • 50 years in Darmstadt
    • ESA Operations image of the week: A ghostly image of our Milky Way galaxy derived from spacecraft orientation data, developed by the mission control team at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany
      ESA Operations image of the week: A ghostly image of our Milky Way galaxy derived from spacecraft orientation data, developed by the mission control team at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany
      Operations image of the week archive
    • ESRO-2 control room at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1968
      ESRO-2 control room at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1968
      50 years ESOC #ESOC50
    • Follow ESA missions
    • Rocket Science blog
    • ESOC - European Space Operations Centre
    • Video & images
    • Ground station chillax
    • SARAS – a Spanish acronym for ‘Fast Acquisition of Satellites and Launchers’ – is a circular array of eight small radio-frequency sensors mounted around the rim of an existing dish antenna.
      SARAS – a Spanish acronym for ‘Fast Acquisition of Satellites and Launchers’ – is a circular array of eight small radio-frequency sensors mounted around the rim of an existing dish antenna.
      Tracking station gallery
    • ESA's webcam at the ESTRACK 35m deep-space station, Cebreros
      ESA's webcam at the ESTRACK 35m deep-space station, Cebreros
      Cebreros webcam
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