As part of the cooperation with the Geo Research Center Potsdam (GFZ), the DLR-DFD has installed the 'Mobile Satellite Receiving Station', which was previously used in Argentina, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.
Due to the extreme climatic conditions, the 4m parabolic antenna is surrounded by a radome, where it follows the CHAMP satellite orbit under program control. The orbit data for calculating the satellite path is generated by the GFZ and made available to the control system via file transfer. The CHAMP signals are synchronized via a new S-band receiver, BPSK-demodulated and decommutated on a magnetic disk, from where they are retrieved by file transfer via an ISDN line from the GFZ.
The receiving station is operated fully automatically and can be administered remotely by the DLR-DFD in Oberpfaffenhofen if required. In the event of system errors, support can be provided by staff at the Koldewey Station, a facility of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Ny-Alesund.
The location Ny-Alesund was chosen by the GFZ on the one hand to acquire the data from almost every orbit of the polar orbiting CHAMP due to its extremely near-polar position and on the other hand to be able to use the existing infrastructure within the framework of the cooperation with the AWI.
The Champ receiving station has been in operation since April 2, 2001 and will remain stationed in Ny-Alesund for the life of the satellite (nominally approx. 5 years) and for follow-up projects.
