Satellite Receiving Station at Ny-Ålesund (Spitsbergen)
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The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences operates a satellite receiving station at Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (78° 55´ North, 11° 56´ East) to receive data from research satellites in polar orbits. The station is located about 1 km outside the village, between the local airport and the Kings Bay (Kongsfjord). Ny-Ålesund is the northernmost location (ca. 1200 km to the North Pole) with regular travel connections (aircraft, ship). Between 30 and 180 inhabitants (permanent staff and visiting scientists) get supplies from the Kings Bay Company, which operates also the local infrastructure (harbor, road system, energy, etc.).
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Instrumentation
Receiving technology and operation The both antenna systems of the station (parabolic reflectors with a diameter of 4 m) are sheltered against the rough climate conditions on Spitsbergen by heatable radomes. They allow satellite reception in the S-band (about 2.2 – 2.45 GHz) and in the X-band (about 7.9 – 8.4 GHz). The receiver and steering devices are placed in a small hut between the radomes. Almost all devices exist at least twice and are operated in parallel. Thus the failure of one device does not necessarily cause an interruption of reception.
All satellite contacts of the station are scheduled by GFZ (section 1.2, “Development, Operation and Analysis of Gravity Field Satellite Missions”), in cooperation with the agencies which are responsible for the satellites and project partners. Data received at the station is automatically sent to GFZ, where it is processed and distributed to other users. The station is operated unmanned all-the-year, but continuously monitored and remotely controlled by GFZ with special technical devices and cameras. The German-French AWIPEV research station at Ny-Ålesund as well as the Kings Bay Company give support in case of problems which cannot be solved from remote. Extension-, maintenance- and repair-works at the station are executed by GFZ, usually once per year.