New Norcia Station
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox telescope
New Norcia Station (also known as NNO) is an ESTRACK Earth station in Australia for communication with spacecraft after launch, in low Earth orbit, in geostationary orbit and in deep space. It is located Template:Convert south of the town of New Norcia, Western Australia.<ref name="main">Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first ESA deep space ground station,<ref name="open">Template:Cite web</ref> followed by Cebreros Station and Malargüe Station.
New Norcia Station was one of the stations providing communications, tracking and data download from the Rosetta spacecraft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It supports the BepiColombo mission.<ref name="main"/>
History
Construction began in April 2000 and lasted until the end of the first half of 2002. Installation of electronics and communication equipment followed. The station was officially opened on 5 March 2003 by the Premier of Western Australia at the time, Geoff Gallop. Total construction cost was Template:Euro.<ref name="open"/>
In December 2019, ESA announced plans to build a second Template:Convert deep space antenna at New Norcia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to provide coverage for upcoming ESA missions, including Solar Orbiter, Hera, and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. This Template:Update after The antenna Template:Update after
Since June 2019, operational support and maintenance of the station has been the responsibility of CSIRO.
NNO-1
The station operates a Template:Convert dish designated NNO-1<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> capable of two-way transmission in both S- and X-bands using 2 and 20-kilowatt transmitters, as well as cryogenic low noise amplifiers for downlink. The antenna weighs over Template:Convert and is Template:Convert tall. Future upgrade plans include adding a Ka-band station to support international missions.<ref name="main"/>
NNO-2
A Template:Convert dish designated NNO-2 was inaugurated on 11 February 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NNO-2 acts as an acquisition aid for the Template:Convert dish for fast-moving satellites and launch vehicles during their launch and early orbit stage.
The NNO-2 mount is capable of tracking at 20 degrees per second in azimuth and 10 degrees per second in elevation.
The Template:Convert dish has a half-power beam width of 1.9 degrees at S-band and 0.5 degrees at X-band and can be used to communicate with spacecraft up to Template:Convert in altitude. To help in signal acquisition when the spacecraft position is too uncertain, the Template:Convert dish has a Template:Convert dish piggy-backed onto it, with a half-power beam width of 3.5 degrees at X-band. There is no S-band capability on the Template:Convert dish.
NNO-2 may also be operated independently of NNO-1, as it commonly does during support activities for launches of Ariane 6 and Vega rockets from the Guiana Space Centre.
NNO-3
Template:As of, construction of the NNO-3 antenna at New Norcia is ongoing. The new antenna is being built to the same mechanical specification as NNO-1, utilising a Template:Convert main reflector on a mount capable of 1 degree-per-second tracking in both azimuth and elevation, by a consortium of companies. Once complete, the antenna will support X-, K- and Ka-bands uplink and downlink, and has provision for a future 100Template:NbspkW class X-uplink.
The antenna is in the final fitout phase, with operations scheduled to begin in January 2026.
Biomass calibration transponder
A 435Template:NbspMHz (also called P-band) transponder supports the Biomass spacecraft. This Template:Convert antenna performs calibration of the spacecraft during its mission to map Earth's bio-matter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The antenna makes use of a phased array of patch antennas, rather than the more usual parabolic reflector used for higher frequencies. It is housed within a small radome, which protects the antenna from weather, to ensure calibration passes can be performed regardless of wind speed.
Launcher tracking
New Norcia station is routinely involved in tracking rocket launches from the Guiana Space Centre, including Ariane 6 and Vega launch vehicles, utilising the NNO-2 antenna, and occasionally NNO-1 for longer supports where the launcher ascends to higher orbits. During these supports New Norcia relays telemetry from the upper stage of the launcher back to Kourou.
References
External links
- Talking to Satellites in Deep Space from New Norcia, chapter from ESA Bulletin, May 2003.
- Europe’s Access to Deep Space: The Deep Space Ground Station in Australia