TROLLSAT to Serve Antarctica
20.04.2007 - Logistics, Other
After Tromsø, Svalbard and Grimstad (Norway), Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is now operating a new satellite ground station located in Antarctica: "TrollSat".
Collocated with the Troll research station built by the Norwegian Polar Institute in Dronning Mauds land, Antarctica, and financed by the Norwegian Ministry for the Environment, TrollSat has been operational since March 1st 2007. The project's development went according to plan and coincides with the International Polar Year (IPY). This is the first operational ground station in Antarctica to provide Earth Observation-related services to worldwide satellite operators and owners.
While TrollSat is equipped with one large, general-purpose tracking antenna which is staffed year-round, it is remotely controlled from the Tromsø Network Operation Centre (TNOC), using the same model as that used for the Svalbard operation. The station offers standard TT&C services as well as data reception and dissemination in near-real time. The station is able to track satellites daily and send the data out in real time through a 45Mbits/s satellite communication link.
The purpose of this action is to provide constant "fresh" data. The first of TrollSat's customers is OrbView 5, but TrollSat is also tabling on a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and is optimistic on serving Galileo (European satellite positioning system) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions.
