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Svalbard station

Svalbard station

The Svalbard-3 (SG-3) antenna provides S-band transmit and S- and X-band receive capability. Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat) is operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) and is located near Longyearbyen. Due to its far northern position, it is the only satellite station that can track all orbits of polar-orbiting satellites, such as ERS-2 and ENVISAT.

Location

The 13-metre antenna terminal is located in the Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat) complex, +78° 13' 47.18", +15° 24' 28.03", and at an elevation of 501.3 metres. Svalbard is on the island of Spitsbergen, a part of Norway, in the Arctic Ocean. Its administrative centre is the town of Longyearbyen.


	The SvalSat data receiving station in Svalbard

Facilities & technology

The Svalbard-3 (SG-3) terminal hosts a 13-metre dish antenna that transmits in S-band and receives in S- and X-band wavelengths, plus facilities for tacking, telemetry, telecommand and radiometric measurements (ranging, Doppler, meteo). It can also provide system validation testing of satellites during final checkout.

The station has a frequency and timing system, a monitoring and control system and communications are enabled via the ESA Operations Network (OPSNET). The site is equipped with a no-break power plant.

Operations

Svalbard station provides routine operations support to Envisat and ERS-2, as well as back-up support for other missions.

SvalSat comprises a highly modern station building and six multi-mission antenna systems. KSAT's antenna infrastructure comprises two operational 11-meter and one 13-meter S- and X-band systems. The antennas at SvalSat are used both for TT&C and for data reception. A staff of sixteen operates SvalSat in shifts, with round-the-clock operations.

The station also supports NASA and EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) operations.

Access & contact

The ESOC point of contact is:
Head of Ground Facilities Operations Div. (OPS-ON)
ESOC, Darmstadt
Tel: +49-6151-90-0

Local site contact:
Mr Sten Christian Pedersen, KSAT Station Manager
Stenp [@] ksat.no
Tel + 47-79-02-25-51

Mailing address:
SvalSat
9171 Longyearbyen
Norway

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