Redu Station is an

ESTRACK The European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) network consists of a number of ground-based space-tracking stations belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), and operated by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. The station ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

antenna station for communication with

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

. The station is located in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, about one kilometre away from the village of

Redu Redu ( wa, Ridû) is a village of Wallonia and district of the municipality of Libin, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The village is twinned with Hay-on-Wye in the United Kingdom and was one of the first book towns. The vill ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The ground terminals provide tracking capabilities in C band,

L-band The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower ...

, S-band, K_u band, and K_a band as well as provide in-orbit tests of

telecommunication 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. C ...

External links

ESA webpage on ESTRACK, including links to all stations

ESA/ESTRACK Redu station page

ESA Redu ground station gallery
European Space Agency ESTRACK facilities Buildings and structures in Luxembourg (Belgium) Libin, Belgium {{space-stub