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ESA's IZN-1 laser ranging station on top of the Izaña mountain in Tenerife, Spain, has recently undergone months of testing and commissioning, passing its final tests with flying colours. As it reached ‘station acceptance’, it was handed over to ESA from the German company contracted to build it, DiGOS. The station is a technology test bed and a vital first step in making debris mitigation widely accessible to all space actors with a say in the future of our space environment.
While dozens of laser tracking stations are dotted around Europe, the Izaña station’s dual functionality makes it a first. Built by German start-up DiGOS, the remotely controlled Izaña station can also be used for optical communications and is intended to be updated to become a state-of-the-art and fully autonomous robotic system. It is hoped to be the first of many across the globe.
The technology, relatively new in the history of ground-based observations of space debris, will also soon mean the station will be able to track previously invisible defunct objects lurking above the blue daytime skies.