Expanding ESA’s global Estrack network
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ESA ground stations provide the communication lifeline to missions across the Solar System: essential telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) services that keep spacecraft safely connected to Earth.
They receive telemetry, the continuous stream of health, status and scientific data sent down by a spacecraft; perform tracking by precisely measuring a spacecraft’s distance, velocity and position using radio signals; and transmit commands that control onboard systems, adjust trajectories, or update mission configurations.
With DSA 4, the network now includes four 35 m deep space antennas and three near‑Earth stations as part of its core infrastructure. DSA 4 complements Estrack’s existing 35 m dishes in:
The other three ground stations in Estrack’s core network are used for tracking satellites or launchers near Earth and feature 4.5 or 15 m dish antennas in Kourou (French Guiana), Santa Maria (Portugal) and Kiruna (Sweden).
All stations in this network are remotely operated around the clock by ESA’s Network Operations Centre (NOC) at ESOC, which oversees antenna pointing, signal acquisition and continuous monitoring of the global system.
Estrack supports all ESA mission families, including deep space missions, as part of a large, diverse operational infrastructure.