Villafranca Station (also known as VILSPA) was 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 stations ...

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 fro ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, north from the city of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in a

Villanueva de la Cañada Villanueva de la Cañada is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Located 30 km north-west from Madrid, the municipality covers an area of 34.92 km2. Geographically, it sits on a large plain, in which there are several promo ...

, within the area of

European Space Astronomy Centre The European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) near Madrid in Spain is the ESA's centre for space science (astronomy, solar system exploration and fundamental physics). It hosts the science operation centres for all ESA astronomy and planetary missi ...

. Station currently operates 15m

S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...

antenna marked VIL-1 capable of automatic tracking, ranging, frequency and timing measurements, monitoring, control and two-way communications. Additional facilities provide tracking,

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...

telecommand A telecommand or telecontrol is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected (e.g. via wires) to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from ''tele'' = remote (Greek), and ''command'' = to ...

and

radiometric Radiometry is a set of techniques for measuring electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. Radiometric techniques in optics characterize the distribution of the radiation's power in space, as opposed to photometric techniques, which cha ...

measurements. In 2014 VIL-1 was upgraded to use SARAS (Spanish acronym for ''Fast Acquisition of Satellites and Launchers'') system allowing easier estimation of the beam direction increasing tracking precision and accuracy. In 2012 first antenna of the Villafranca Station, built in 1974 and designated VIL-1, was passed to the

Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial The Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» (INTA, ) is an List of agencies in Spain, autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretary of State for Defence (Spain), Secretariat of State ...

and dedicated to the Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research (CESAR) project and currently is used as a radio telescope for educational purposes. In 2017 VIL-1 has been transferred to European industry

References

External links

ESA gallery of the Villafranca station

SARAS video featuring images from upgraded Villafranca station, 2014
European Space Agency ESTRACK facilities Buildings and structures in the Community of Madrid INTA facilities {{space-stub