Svalbard Ground Station, Norway

Eumetsat has selected a site on Spitsbergen, a Svalbard island within the arctic circle as the site for a Command and Data Acquisition (CDA) ground station for the Eumetsat Polar System (EPS). Work started on the CDA station site in 1997, a station that will play a key part in the EPS ground segment infrastructure. Low-earth polar orbiting satellites often collect information during an entire Earth orbit, then download it all directly to a ground station when they are within line of sight.

The ground station at Svalbard is unique because it covers all 14 daily passes of polar orbiting satellites, allowing for a more continuous download of information. At this latitude one station provides complete coverage and two stations are no longer required. This is the main reason that the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) has established SvalSat at Platåberget, near the town of Longyearbyen. SvalSat is a general-purpose station; operating, receiving data and disseminating information from polar orbiting satellites, and will also be capable of tracking sounding rockets and Early Orbit Support for orbital launches. Completion of the Svalbard CDA site accommodation and station installation is planned for June 2003.

NASA EOS SATELLITES

SvalSat became operational in 1997, and the first customer was NASA, which uses it for its EOS satellites. NASA has installed one 11m S-X band antenna system. The business idea for Svalbard Satellite Station is to provide cost-effective services to polar satellite operators. Smaller systems are served on a time and cost-sharing basis, while larger users may want to use dedicated equipment. This approach allows for a flexible operation, which will minimise operational costs.

MTPE GROUND STATION SYSTEM

NSC's goal is to make SvalSat a key station in the global MTPE ground station system and the facility will be proposed as a prime data reception station for the EOS follow-on satellites. Discussions are being held between NSC and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) about the possibilities to locate a control station for the Indian IRS C/D and related missions at SvalSat. The Indian Earth Observation satellite system is expected to grow significantly in size and complexity over the next years, and SvalSat will allow a 92% total coverage of seven Indian satellites. If talks are successful, NSC will provide ISRO with TT&C support 24 hours a day.

CONTRACTORS AND OPERATORS

The NSC provides the basic infrastructure, while Tromsø Satellite Station is the operator as an extension of its own satellite activities. Telenor provides telecommunication to and from SvalSat from the telecommunication node at Isfjord Radio and at the SvalSat site.

FUTURE INVESTMENT

Tromsø Satellite Station has decided to invest NOK 40 million ($4.3 million) in a new 13 metre S- and X-band antenna and full multimission baseband installation at SvalSat. The antenna will be installed in August 2001 and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.