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Maspalomas Station
Maspalomas Station is an INTA-operated, ESTRACK radio antenna ground station for communication with spacecraft located at the southern area of Gran Canaria island, on the INTA campus. It is situated on the Montaña Blanca hill and is visible from the coastal resort of Meloneras, close to Maspalomas. It was originally established in the 1960s to support NASA's nascent human spaceflight program. History From the 1950s the momentum was growing in the Space Race to develop spaceflight. A need arose for an international network of tracking stations around the globe to communicate with satellites and crewed space capsules and to control their flight trajectory. On 18 March 1960, the Spanish and US Governments signed an agreement to establish a NASA satellite ground station on Gran Canaria, the first in Spain. The location was chosen because Maspalomas is on the same latitude as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the two locations separated only by the Atlantic Ocean. The origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instituto Nacional De Técnica Aeroespacial
The Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» (INTA, ) is an autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretariat of State for Defence (SEDEF). It is responsible for the aerospace, aeronautics, hydrodynamics, and defense and security technologies research. The INTA was established in 1942, as the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeronáutica (), and it was integrated in the Ministry of the Air. It has its headquarters in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid. Organization Its budget, €190 million in 2019, comes from the Spanish Ministry of Defence and from its own projects with the industry. As of 2017, INTA had a total of 1500 employees, 80% of them are dedicated to R&D activities. Its two main areas of activity are research and development (for example, in propulsion, materials, remote sensing) and certification and testing (for example, in aircraft, software, metrology). Programs and missions Satellites Mai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of Spain
gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , data2 = , label3 = Country , data3 = Kingdom of Spain , label4 = Appointed by , data4 = Monarch , label5 = Main organ , data5 = Council of Ministers , label6 = Responsible to , data6 = Cortes Generales , label7 = Constitution instrument , data7 = Government Act of 1997 , header8 = Cabinet , label9 = Members , data9 = Sánchez Government , label10 = Prime Minister , data10 = Pedro Sánchez , label11 = Deputy Prime Minister , data11 = Nadia Calviño , label12 = Number of members , data12 = 23 , header14 = Administration , label15 = Workinglanguage , data15 = Spanish , label16 = Staff organization , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (''ITSO'', or INTELSAT), from 1964 to 2001, it was an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international telecommunications and broadcast services. As of June 2022, Intelsat operated a fleet of 52 communications satellites which was then one of the world's largest fleets. In 2020, the company announced plans to procure, build and launch seven C-band satellites over the next several years. These C-band satellites will contribute to the acceleration of America's 5G buildout. In early 2022, the company announced contracts for four GEO software defined satellites (SDS), two in partnership with Airbus and two in partnership ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communications Satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Quiet Zone
A radio quiet zone is an area where radio transmissions are restricted in order to protect a radio telescope or a communications station from radio frequency interference. The Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) define interference as being detrimental to radio astronomy if it increases measurement uncertainty by 10%. In particular, the applicable regulation is known as ITU-R Recommendation RA.769, "Protection criteria used for radio astronomical measurements". Equipment that can cause interference includes mobile phones, television transmitters, and CB radios, as well as other electrical equipment. Quiet zones are located in areas that are sparsely populated, and may be enforced by government legislation. A radio quiet zone is often divided into two zones: an exclusion zone where all radio emissions are prohibited, and a larger coordination zone of up to 100 km2 where the power levels of radio transmissions are suitably limited so as not to int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Gemini
Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966. Gemini's objective was the development of space travel techniques to support the Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon. In doing so, it allowed the United States to catch up and overcome the lead in human spaceflight capability the Soviet Union had obtained in the early years of the Space Race, by demonstrating: mission endurance up to just under 14 days, longer than the eight days required for a round trip to the Moon; methods of performing extra-vehicular activity (EVA) without tiring; and the orbital maneuvers necessary to achieve rendezvous and docking with another spacecraft. This left Apollo free to pursue its prime mission without spending time devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury-Atlas 6
Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was the first crewed American orbital spaceflight, which took place on February 20, 1962. Piloted by astronaut John Glenn and operated by NASA as part of Project Mercury, it was the fifth human spaceflight, preceded by Soviet orbital flights Vostok 1 and 2 and American sub-orbital flights Mercury-Redstone 3 and 4. The Mercury spacecraft, named ''Friendship 7'', was carried to orbit by an Atlas LV-3B launch vehicle lifting off from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. After three orbits, the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, splashed down in the North Atlantic Ocean, and was safely taken aboard . Total mission flight time was four hours 55 minutes and 23 seconds. The event was named an IEEE Milestone in 2011. Preparation After the successful completion of the Mercury-Atlas 5 flight that carried Enos, a chimpanzee, in late November 1961, a press conference was held in early December. Reporters asked NASA's Robert Gilruth who wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at age 77. Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War. He shot down three MiG-15s, and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. His on-board camera took the first continuous, panoramic photograph of the United States. He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the '' Friend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury-Atlas 4
Mercury-Atlas 4 was an uncrewed spaceflight of the Mercury program. It was launched on September 13, 1961, at 14:09 UTC from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. A Crewman Simulator instrument package was aboard. The craft orbited the Earth once. There were a series of delays getting the Atlas and Mercury capsule ready as the postflight findings from MA-3 had necessitated extensive modifications to the booster. Vehicle 88D did not undergo its factory rollout inspection until June 30 and delivery to Cape Canaveral waited until July 15. Moreover, the flight was not going to use Mercury capsule #9 as planned, but instead capsule #8, which had been recovered from the MA3 launch and refurbished. Capsule #8 was also the last of the older models with small port windows, no landing bag, and a heavy locking mechanism on the hatch. A series of delays occurred due to problems with the Atlas autopilot, including the replacement of a defective yaw rate gyro. Launch was originally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network (abbreviated MSFN, pronounced "''misfin''") was a set of tracking stations built to support the American Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab space programs. There were two other NASA space communication networks at the time, the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network (STADAN) for tracking satellites in low Earth orbit, and the Deep Space Network (DSN) for tracking more distant uncrewed missions. After the end of Skylab, the MSFN and STADAN were merged to form the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN). STDN was in turn replaced by the satellite-based Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) during the Space Shuttle program, being used . Orbital versus deep space tracking Tracking vehicles in low Earth orbits (LEO) is quite different from tracking deep space missions. Deep space missions are visible for long periods of time from a large portion of the Earth's surface, and so require few stations (the DSN uses only three, ). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the US Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted 20 uncrewed developmental flights (some using animals), and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from Roman mythology, cost $ (adjusted for inflation). The astronauts were collectively known as the " Mercury Seven", and each spacecraft was given a name ending with a "7" by its pilot. The Space Race began with the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1. This came as a shock to the American public, and led to the creation of NASA to expedite existing US space exploration efforts, and place most of them under civilian control. After the successful launch of the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958, crewed spacef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maspalomas Lighthouse
The Maspalomas Lighthouse ( es, Faro de Maspalomas) is an active 19th century lighthouse at the southern end of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary archipelago. It lies at one end of the Maspalomas beach, south of the resort town centre, next to the area known as the Maspalomas Dunes. The lighthouse is a distinctive landmark in the resort, and is the tallest masonry lighthouse in the Canaries at being superseded only by the more modern concrete Morro Jable lighthouse on Fuerteventura. With a focal height of above the sea, its light can be seen for 19 nautical miles, and consists of a pattern of three flashes of white light, over a period of thirteen seconds. Construction and equipment This lighthouse is a construction conceived by the engineer Juan León y Castillo as a luminous complex made up of two main bodies, the house of the bullfighter and the tower. The house, with a rectangular floor plan, was developed from a traditional idea such as the Cana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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