Swedish Space Corp. will provide northern telemetry, tracking and command services for ESA's Galileo satellites at its Esrange Space Center near Kiruna. The 13-meter TT and C antenna to be located at Esrange will play a key role in the global infrastructure needed to operate the fleet of Galileo satellites, the company said in a news release.
The antenna will be one of two TT&C sites employed during the in-orbit validation phase of the satellites. The second will be located at Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, near the equator.
The antenna at Esrange will assure reliable contact between the satellite control center and the Galileo constellation.
SSC's facility at Esrange is part of a global satellite service network called PrioraNet, which the company operates in partnership with Universal Space Network of Newport Beach, Calif.
"After all the studies and the support we have done for the two first satellites within the Galileo project, Giove-A and Giove-B, we now look forward to this next phase," said Mikael Stern, general manager of SSC's Satellite Operations Division.
