The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC), in Spanish and officially ''Complejo de Comunicaciones de Espacio Profundo de Madrid'', is a satellite
ground station
A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves f ...
located in
Robledo de Chavela
Robledo de Chavela is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It has a population of 3319.
The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex (MDSCC) is located in this town.
References
See also
* Imperial Route of the Community of Ma ...
, Spain, and operated by the
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA). Part of the
Deep Space Network
The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of American spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetary ...
(DSN) of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, California ...
(JPL), along with its two sister stations at
Goldstone, California
The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called the Goldstone Observatory, is a satellite ground station located in Fort Irwin in the U.S. state of California. Operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its m ...
and
Canberra, Australia
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The c ...
it is used for tracking and communicating with NASA's spacecraft, particularly interplanetary missions. The DSN and the Near Space Network (NSN) are services of the NASA Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN).
Deep Space Network
The MDSCC is part of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
's
Deep Space Network
The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of American spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetary ...
run by the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, California ...
. The facility contributes to the Deep Space Network's mission to provide the vital two-way communications link that tracks and controls interplanetary spacecraft and receives the images and scientific information they collect. The complex is one of three NASA Deep Space Network complexes in the world, located at separations of approximately 120° longitude so that a spacecraft will always be in sight of at least one station; the others are the
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called the Goldstone Observatory, is a satellite ground station located in Fort Irwin in the U.S. state of California. Operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its m ...
located in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, near the city of
Barstow, and the
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is a satellite communication station, part of the Deep Space Network of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. Opened in 1 ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
which is close to the city of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
The complex also serves some missions of the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
.
Functions
The antennas and data delivery systems make it possible to:
*Acquire telemetry data from spacecraft.
*Transmit commands to spacecraft.
*Track spacecraft position and velocity.
*Perform Radio Astronomy (both single-dish and very-long-baseline interferometry) observations.
*Measure variations in radio waves for radio science experiments.
*Monitor and control the performance of the
Deep Space Network
The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of American spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetary ...
.
Antennas
The complex has eight large parabolic antennas, called DSS-61, DSS-54, DSS-55, DSS-56, DSS-63, DSS-65 and DSS-66.
Official INTA site for the MDSCC
See also
* Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)
* RT-70
There are three radio telescopes designated RT-70, all in countries that were once part of the former Soviet Union, all with similar specifications: 70m dishes and an operating range of 5–300 GHz. The Yevpatoria telescope has also been us ...
References
External links
Official Site at JPL
Blog of the scientists manning the station
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140325190134/http://www.isdefe.es/en/sectors-Spacecommunications Official Site at ISDEFE, operator of MDSCC at Robledo
{{NASA centers
Deep Space Network
Radio telescopes
Earth stations in Spain
NASA facilities
INTA facilities
1961 establishments in Spain