Ground stations at the ready

Around the poles, at around 2,000 kilometres North of ESOC and 14,000 kilometres South, the mission’s ground stations are gearing up as well. In the last hours before launch, as part of the “network countdown”, the final tests will be carried out to make sure that all the conditions are in place for the launch.

That means checking voice and data links with the ground stations and ensuring that telemetry, telecommand and tracking as well as radiometric functions are in place between ESOC, the ground stations and the spacecraft.

Just a bit less than an hour after launch, ground stations engineers at the Troll Station in Antarctica will receive the first signals from the satellite. Soon after, telemetry will start to flow to ESA mission control in Germany.

The mission will rely on a network of ESA and non-ESA ground stations, including Kiruna, Inuvik, Svalbard, and the above-mentioned Troll station. These stations will provide telemetry for up to ten minutes per pass, ensuring continuous monitoring and data collection.