The antenna system is the main instrument at the station. It is a 9 metre antenna that is used for receiving satellite data and commanding satellites as well as for geodetic radio telescope observations to measure continental drift.
The 9 m Cassegrain radio telescope has a coaxially arranged sub-reflector and a feed horn. It is designed to meet the requirements of two operation modes: a high slew rate of 11 deg/s in azimuth and 5 deg/s in elevation for satellite tracking, and a mechanical construction that ensures high geometric stability for geodetic VLBI. It is constructed for extreme Antarctic conditions. The antenna can withstand wind speeds up to 300 km/h in stow position. Routine antenna operation with maximum wind speeds in gusts up to 180 km/h is no problem. The table accessible via the link at right presents more detailed information on the antenna system parameters
Further information and details about the satellite receiving station and the antenna can be found in the adjacent document.
Supported missions
Ground station service requested
Service requestor
Mission operator / partners
Payload data downlink
Commanding
House-keeping data downlink
LEOP support
Historical missions
ERS (ERS-1, ERS-2)
x
x
ESA
ESA
CHAMP
x
x
DLR
DLR / GFZ
Missions supported in the past
Landsat-5
x
USGS
NASA / USGS
Current missions
TET-1
x
x
DLR
DLR
Terra/Aqua MODIS
x
DLR
NASA
GRACE (GRACE1, GRACE2)
x
x
DLR
DLR / NASA, GFZ, UTCSR
SCISAT-1
x
x
CSA
CSA
TerraSAR-X (TSX-1,TDX-1)
x
x
x
DLR
DLR / ASTRIUM, GFZ
TanDEM-X (TSX-1, TDX-1)
x
x
x
x (TDX-1)
DLR
DLR / ASTRIUM, GFZ
NEOSSAT
x
x
x
CSA
CSA / DRDC
CASSIOPE
x
x
x
SSC
MDA
An GARS O’Higgins unterstützte Satellitenmissionen.
