📡 Meet one of the antennas behind the success of YPSAT
Launched onboard the maiden flight of #Ariane6, the YPSat mission owes its success to a network of ground stations, big and small, dispersed around the globe.
Among these stations is one very special antenna located at the European Space Security and Education Centre (#ESEC), in Redu, Belgium. Normally, this antenna is solely dedicated to the centre's programme, #Proba, which aims at demonstrating and validating new technologies and concepts in orbit.
"We were happy to offer one of Proba's antennas to YPSat for the duration of their short mission. We had to reconfigure our antenna to match their requirements, for example the radio frequency. During the launch and in the hours following it, we acquired the mission's data and shared it with the team located at #ESOC Main Control Room", says René Wittmann, Proba Spacecraft Operation Manager.
The SmallSat Control Centre located at ESEC/Redu complements ESA’s main Mission Control Centre located at #ESOC by operating small satellites (typically up to 1m3) and CubeSats. The site of Redu also hosts one station belonging to ESA’s ground station network, #ESTRACK.
Set to be launched in 2024, the #Proba3 mission, composed of two spacecrafts, will demonstrate new technologies for satellite formation-flying. It will be operated from ESEC.