ESA - Human Spaceflight and Exploration - ISS ship-tracker operating alongside Norwegian satellite

Our vision

Current missions

Past missions

Mars500 MagISStra Node-3 & Cupola Expert Alissé OasISS Columbus Esperia Celsius Astrolab Eneide DELTA Cervantes Odissea Marco Polo Andromède STS-100

Multimedia

Video Multimedia gallery RSS feeds

Resources

Experiment archive Press Releases

Services

Calendar Subscribe

Article Images

ISS ship-tracker operating alongside Norwegian satellite

26 August 2010

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES MP4 (Size: 5795 kb)

Experiment ship detection from orbit is being carried out continously from ESA's Columbis module attached to the ISS. An external antenna is connected to two internal receivers, picking up Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals from ship transponders. The two receivers are being operated on an alternating basis, switching every three months. Each was designed by a separate Norway and Luxembourg-based consortia - the animation here, acquired on 2 June, comes from the Norwegian NORAIS receiver.

Credits: FFI

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 29 kb)

The first Norwegian satellite developed in Norway, AISSat-1 was launched on 12 July 2010. It is being used to detect AIS signals from ocean-going traffic in conjunction with a comparable experiment aboard ESA's Columbus module of ISS.

Credits: Norwegian Space Centre

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 1701 kb)

Astronaut Randolph Bresnik seen during Atlantis EVA-2 on 21 November 2009 with the unfurled AIS antenna, attached to Columbus to be used for experimental tracking of VHF signals of ships at sea.

Credits: NASA

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 119 kb)

European USOCs

Credits: ESA

Technology

Columbus laboratory