Cebreros webcam goes live
Watch the outdoor ceremony inaugurating ESA's new 35-metre deep
ESA has a new 35-metre deep space antenna, and the antenna has a new webcam!
The outdoor web-connected camera was set up in September to allow space fans to follow the giant antenna's operation and movement.
The live webcam feed is below. It will automatically refresh every 30 seconds:
Click here or on image to view larger version.
Cebreros facts and figures
The Cebreros dish is 35 metres in diameter; the entire structure is 40 metres high and weighs about 630 tons. It was completed in almost two years by an industrial consortium led by the Canadian company SED Systems; Spanish firms Esteyco and Necso built the antenna tower infrastructure, and LV Salamanca was responsible for the building refurbishment.
The total cost of the new station amounts to €30 million, €22 million of which covers the antenna.
The Cebreros antenna incorporates state-of-the-art technology which provides some advantages compared to the New Norcia facility. For instance, the Cebreros data acquisition capacity is higher, due to the fact that it will receive signals in the Ka band (31.8 - 32.3 GHz). Cebreros also has a higher pointing accuracy, with a maximum error of 6.0 milligrade degrees.
In normal conditions, the antenna will be remotely operated from ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.