ESA - ESA Spacecraft Operations - ESTRACK tracking stations

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ESTRACK tracking stations

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The Core Network comprises eight ESTRACK stations: Kourou (French Guiana), Maspalomas, Villafranca and Cebreros (Spain), Redu (Belgium), Kiruna (Sweden) and Perth and New Norcia (Australia). This image shows detail of the DSA 1 antenna at New Norcia.

Credits: ESA

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Map showing locations of ESA Tracking Station (ESTRACK) ground stations as of January 2011.

Blue indicates core ESA-owned stations operated by the ESTRACK Control Centre (ECC), at ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.

Orange indicates Augmented ESTRACK stations, procured commercially and operated on behalf of ESA by commercial entities.

Green indicates Cooperative ESTRACK stations fully owned and operated by outside agencies, but regularly providing services on an exchange basis.

Credits: ESA

ESA Deep Space Antennas

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ESA's first 35-metre deep-space ground station is situated at New Norcia, 140 kilometres north of Perth in Australia. The 630 tonne antenna will be used to track Rosetta and Mars Express, the latter to be launched in 2003, as well as other missions in deep space. The ground station was officially opened on 5 March 2003 by the Premier of Western Australia, Hon Dr Geoff Gallop.

Credits: ESA

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ESA's 35-metre deep-space dish antenna, located at Cebreros, near Avila, Spain.

Credits: Cebreros

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The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex features a number of antennas that are required daily to receive from, and transmit information to a wide variety of spacecraft.

Credits: NASA

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Use of radio frequencies is regulated by the ITU

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ITU maintains the Radio Regulations. These are designed to ensure that all the different radio systems (television, radio, cell-phone, radar, air traffic control, satellite broadcasting, GPS and Galileo and even microwave ovens) can all operate in the same radio spectrum.

Credits: ESA-J. Huart

Last update: 13 April 2011

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