Svalbard Satellite Station
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Svalbard Satellite Station () or SvalSat 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 fro ...
located on
Platåberget Platåberget is a mountain in Nordenskiöld Land on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It is tall and has a distinct plateau shape, for which it is named. It is bordered to the west by the Bjørndalen valley and the Fuglefjella bir ...
near
Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ( ...
in
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
, Norway. Opened in 1997, it is operated by
Kongsberg Satellite Services Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) is a Norwegian-based company. KSAT has the most extensive ground station network globally, and the world's largest ground station for support of polar orbiting satellites located at 78° North - Svalbard, ...
(KSAT), a joint venture between
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and we ...
and the
Norwegian Space Centre The Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) (formerly the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC); Norwegian'':'' ''Norsk Romsenter'') is a Norwegian government agency that follows Norway's public space activities. NOSA's goal is to ensure that Norway benefits from ...
(NSC). SvalSat and KSAT's Troll Satellite Station (TrollSat) in Antarctica are the only ground stations that can see a low altitude
polar orbit A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of abo ...
ing satellite (e.g., in
Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...
) on every revolution as the Earth rotates. As of 2021, the facility consists of 100 multi-mission and customer-dedicated antennas which operate in the C, L, S, X and K bands. The station provides ground services to more satellites than any other facility in the world. Customers with their own installations include the
European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is an intergovernmental organisation created through an international convention agreed by a current total of 30 European Member States. EUMETSAT's primary ...
(EUMETSAT), the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...
(NASA), the
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
(ESA) and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
(NOAA). The station also reads and distributes data from the Japanese Hinode solar research satellite. The facility has seen a large increase in smaller customers after 2004, when the Svalbard Undersea Cable System started providing a fiber Internet connection. Concessions for downloading are only issued to civilian satellites, yet some data has been indirectly used by armed forces. There is a disagreement as to whether this constitutes a breach of the
Svalbard Treaty The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and no ...
.


History

The
European Space Research Organization The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...
(ESRO) established
Kongsfjord Telemetry Station Kongsfjord Telemetry Station () was a satellite ground station located nearby Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway. It was used between 1967 and 1974 as one of the four initial ground stations which were part of the European Space Tracking Network (E ...
in
Ny-Ålesund Ny-Ålesund ("New Ålesund") is a small town in Oscar II Land in the west of the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. It is situated on the Brøgger peninsula (Brøggerhalvøya) and on the shore of the bay of Kongsfjorden. The company town is owned ...
as one of its four initial European Space Tracking Network stations. The facility remained in use from 1967 to 1974,Øvregard (1996): 330 but was closed as it was not suitable for ESRO's second generation of satellites.Kriege and Russo (2000): 142 During the planning of the station, Longyearbyen had been proposed as a location, and it was largely political concerns by Norwegian authorities to create permanent activity in Ny-Ålesund which lead ESRO to accept the location. In the 1990s, NSC operated
Tromsø Satellite Station Tromsø Satellite Station (, TSS), until 1988 known as Tromsø Telemetry Station (), is a satellite earth station located in Tromsø, Norway. The facility is owned by Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), a joint venture between the Kongsberg Gro ...
(TSS), which was used as a ground station for a limited number of satellites. After
Rolf Skår Rolf Skår (13 May 1941 – 24 May 2023) was a Norwegian engineer and entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of the computer manufacturing company Norsk Data in 1967, and took over as chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from 1978 to 1989. He ...
was appointed director of NSC, plans were launched to try to win the ground station contract for NASA's planned
Earth Observing System The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a program of NASA comprising a series of artificial satellite missions and scientific instruments in Earth orbit designed for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, earth's atmosphere, at ...
(EOS). NASA was considering locating the ground station in
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
, at
McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is ...
in Antarctica or at
Esrange , , , , , , , , , Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high-altitude balloons, investigation of the a ...
in Sweden. Skår invited a NASA delegation to visit Svalbard, and from 1996 NSC and NASA started negotiating a contract to establish a ground station at Longyearbyen. Svalbard was chosen because of its high
latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
from which every polar-orbiting satellite above can be seen on every revolution as the earth rotates within its orbital plane. For the EOS program, Svalbard was supplemented by
Poker Flat Research Range The Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) is a Rocket launch site, launch facility and rocket range for sounding rockets in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on a site at Chatanika, Alaska, Chatanika, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Fairban ...
in Fairbanks, Alaska. Construction of the road up to Platåberget started in 1996 and a relay station was built to send the data to
Isfjord Radio Isfjord Radio is a coast radio station, weather station and hotel located at Kapp Linné on the island Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The station was established in 1933, and has played an important role in the telecommunications between the ...
before being sent onwards to a
geostationary satellite A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...
. The first installation was an
parabolic antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or p ...
with S and X band capability. The first satellite to use SvalSat was
Landsat 7 Landsat 7 is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite photos, providing up-to-date and cloud-free images. The Landsat program is managed and ...
, which was launched on 15 April 1999. It was followed up by three other EOS satellites:
Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...
,
Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...
and
QuikSCAT The NASA QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) was an Earth observation satellite carrying the SeaWinds scatterometer. Its primary mission was to measure the surface wind speed and direction over the ice-free global oceans via its effect on water waves. ...
. To ensure a sustainable financing of operations, NSC started negotiating with other potential customers. However, the project was rejected by the
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...
. Instead, a cooperation was made with Kongsberg Aerospace and Defence and
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
, who built the second antenna as a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
.Wormdal (2011): 44 In 2001, a German research group applied for permission to establish a ground station in Ny-Ålesund. NSC feared that the competition could undermine the financial capabilities of SvalSat. However, no facility in Ny-Ålesund was built. In 2002, ownership and operations of the facility were consolidated and taken over by the newly created Kongsberg Satellite Services. Lockheed Martin was no longer interested in owning a share of the facility, and sold their shares. NSC and Kongsberg merged their interests in the new company, which also took over TSS. By 2004, six antennas, between in diameter, had been installed.
Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...
and
Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...
decided in 2002 to locate its ground station for
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) was to be the United States' next-generation satellite system that would monitor the Earth's weather, Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere, oceans, land, and near-space envi ...
, the successor of EOS, to
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, Finland, instead of Svalbard. The reason was lack of
optical fiber cable A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with p ...
connection to the archipelago. NSC took initiative to build such a cable in July 2002 and gained interest from NASA, NOAA and Telenor. The cable was financed by the satellite operators paying the same fee for the transmission of data as they would have to pay for a satellite connection until the cable was paid for. A 40 million
United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
contract was signed with
Tyco International Tyco International was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major busin ...
for two cables between
Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...
on the mainland and Longyearbyen. Construction started in June 2003 and was completed in January 2004. Starting in 2007, SvalSat was expanded with 12 antennas. Five are used for
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
, while the remaining are used for a large array of customers. In 2007 and 2008, both Terra and Landsat 7 were hacked twice. The hackers were able to achieve all steps which would have been necessary to take control over the satellites, but did not actually take control. The operation commanded the satellites via SvalSat, which it was able to hack via the Internet connection. In his 2011 book ''Satellittkrigen'',
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
journalist Bård Wormdal argues that SvalSat is used for
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
and thus is violating the Svalbard Treaty. Specifically, Wormdal provides evidence that downloaded images of the earth are used for intelligence and military activities. For instance, a Landsat image taken during the
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...
was sold by the Italian company e-GEOS to the
Italian Armed Forces The Italian Armed Forces (, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth Military branch, branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's Gendarmerie, military police an ...
. Similarly, a
Technology Experiment Satellite Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) is an Indian remote sensing and photo-reconnaissance satellite. Launch Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle#PSLV-C3, PSLV-C3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan ...
image was sold to the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
during the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
and
Arirang-2 KOMPSAT-2 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-2), also known as Arirang-2, is a South Korean multipurpose Earth observation satellite. It was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 07:45:43 UTC (16:05:43 KST) on 28 July 2006. It began to tr ...
images of North Korean installations have been sold to the United States. All three satellites use SvalSat as one of their ground stations. According to Governor
Odd Olsen Ingerø Odd Olsen Ingerø (born 22 September 1950) is a Norwegian civil servant and former Governor of Svalbard. He was born in Skjeberg Municipality. In 2005, he was appointed director of the National Criminal Investigation Service. He was the Govern ...
, even if a military should indirectly use information downloaded from SvalSat, this would not be a breach of the treaty. A dissertation by Professor Geir Ulfstein concludes that even if a ground station was directly used for downloading military intelligence from
military satellite A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose. The most common missions are intelligence gathering, navigation and military communications. The first military satellites were photographic reconnaissance missions. S ...
s, it would still be permitted by the treaty. On January 7, 2022, an undersea fiberoptic cable located between the Svalbard Satellite Station and the Norwegian mainland was cut and put out of operation in mysterious incident. The official press release from Space Norway said the extent of the damage was not clear and will require a cable-laying ship to investigate and repair.


Operation

SvalSat is owned and operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), which is again equally owned by the Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace and the Norwegian Space Centre, the latter which is again owned by the
Ministry of Trade and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
. Of KSAT's 200 employees, 40 are stationed in Longyearbyen and work at SvalSat. KSAT is not tied to a particular operator of satellites and some of the antennas communicate with multiple satellites, thus reducing costs compared to dedicated ground stations. For a typical satellite, data is delivered to the end customer no more than 30 minutes after downloading. As of January 2020 SvalSat receives data from 130 different satellites, and with Tromsø station receives data from at total of 40 000 passes each month. All ground stations are connected to KSAT's Tromsø Network Operation Center, which is also connected to the TSS and TrollSat. This allows for redundancy as also TSS and TrollSat can be used to communicate with the satellites. Some customers have direct access to their installations in Longyearbyen without having to route via the Tromsø Network Operation Center. The operation center is responsible for
backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...
,
scheduling A schedule (, ) or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things ...
and conflict resolution. The facility uses
interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader de ...
and shared ground services, such as a common protocol for communication and similar design of the antennas, to increase flexibility and reduce costs and risk. KSAT operates two polar ground stations optimized for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the other being TrollSat at
Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
in Antarctica. These are the only two ground stations able to see a polar-orbiting satellite on every revolution. By using both stations, customers can communicate with a satellite twice per orbit. All satellites which use SvalSat need a concession from the
Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority The Norwegian Communications Authority (), prior to 2015 the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for controlling and regulating the telecommunication and postal sector of Norway. The ag ...
. Such a concession is only awarded to satellites which would abide by the treaty and explicitly excludes any
military satellite A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose. The most common missions are intelligence gathering, navigation and military communications. The first military satellites were photographic reconnaissance missions. S ...
s. However, this does not prevent information from
dual-use In politics, diplomacy and export control, dual-use items refer to goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.
satellites being sold to military organizations. The
Governor of Svalbard The governor of Svalbard () represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen). The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in ...
inspects the station twice per year. This includes checking the logs of satellites SvalSat has communicated with, but not the actual information transferred. All SvalSat employees need a
security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...
from
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and the
Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces () are the armed forces responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Norwegian Coast Guard, Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air ...
.


Facilities

SvalSat is located on Platåberget, a
mountain plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Oft ...
above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
just outside Longyearbyen on the island of
Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...
in Svalbard, Norway. The location on the 78th parallel north is favorable to communication with satellites in low polar orbits. The facility consists of close to 100 antenna systems (as of des. 2019), both multi-mission and customer dedicated, making SvalSat the world's largest commercial ground station. They are variously capable of communication in the C, L, S, X and K bands. SvalSat makes use of the
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems Consultation or consultative may refer to: * Public consultation, a process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought * Consultation (Texas), the 1835 Texas meeting of colonists on a proposed rebellion against the Republic of ...
' Space Link Extension protocols, an international standard for ground station to satellite communication. Most antennas use the S band for tracking,
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
and commanding and the X band for high-speed data download. Originally, SvalSat used a combination of a 2
megabits per second In telecommunications, data transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols ( baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are mul ...
(Mb/s)
leased line A leased line is a private telecommunications circuit between two or more locations provided according to a commercial contract. It is sometimes also known as a private circuit, and as a data line in the UK. Typically, leased lines are used by ...
, several
Integrated Services Digital Network Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. ...
lines and a 55 Mbit/s
satellite Internet access Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites; if it can sustain high-speed Internet, high speeds, it is termed satellite broadband. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provide ...
via
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
for data transmission off the island. From 2004, the Svalbard Undersea Cable System gives two redundant fiber lines to the mainland, each providing 10 gigabits per second. The fiber connection is operated by
Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...
. Power is supplied from Longyearbyen Power Station, In case of a power outage, the facility is equipped with an
uninterruptible power supply An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or uninterruptible power source is a type of continual power system that provides automated backup electric power to a electrical load, load when the input power source or mains electricity, mains power fai ...
and has a
standby generator Standby generators A standby generator is a back-up electrical system that operates automatically.Robert B. Hickey ''Electrical Construction Databook'', McGraw Hill, 2002 , Chapter 14 Within seconds of a utility outage an automatic transfer s ...
capable of supplying power for two weeks. The facility consists of a main operations building, a building for the emergency power supply, a transformer station, and a mobile research station, in addition to the
radome A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...
s. The lot is located above
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC). The compan ...
's Mine 3 and is leased to KSAT. The facility is connected to Longyearbyen via a long private road. When the road is closed because of
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
s and land slides, helicopter transport is used. There is a road connecting all the antennas to ease maintenance. Installations at SvalSat not related to satellite communication include a measuring station for radioactive particles in the air operated by Norwegian Seismic Array, a telecommunications installation operated by Telenor, a
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
operated by the
Norwegian Meteorological Institute The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (), also known internationally as MET Norway, is Norway's national meteorological institute. It provides weather forecasts for civilian and military uses and conducts research in meteorology, oceanography an ...
, with information relayed to
Svalbard Airport, Longyear Svalbard Airport (; ) is the main airport serving Svalbard in Norway. It is northwest of Longyearbyen on the west coast, and is the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights. The first airport near Longyearbyen was constru ...
, and a weather station operated by SvalSat. Antennas are placed according to customer specifications, which normally involves a distance of between antennas. This is to ensure that antennas do not shade each other and that their electromagnetic noise and
radio noise In radio reception, radio noise (commonly referred to as radio static) is unwanted random radio frequency electrical signals, fluctuating voltages, always present in a radio receiver in addition to the desired radio signal. Radio noise is a comb ...
do not interfere with each other. Locations are chosen to maximize satellite pass durations, view a calibration station on Hiorthhamnfjellet, provide visibility of the
Clarke Belt A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...
for geostationary satellite antennas, or visibility to
Isfjord Radio Isfjord Radio is a coast radio station, weather station and hotel located at Kapp Linné on the island Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The station was established in 1933, and has played an important role in the telecommunications between the ...
for terrestrial communications antennas.


Customers

SvalSat is part of NASA's
Near Earth Network The Near Earth Network (NEN, formerly GN or Ground Network) provides orbital communications support for near-Earth orbiting customer platforms via various ground stations, operated by NASA and other space agencies. It uses a number of different di ...
. This includes support for the Earth Observing System, which includes satellites such as
Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...
,
Aura Aura most commonly refers to: * Aura (paranormal), a purported field of luminous multi-colored radiation around a person or object * Aura (symptom), a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure * Halo (religious iconography), glory, or aure ...
, Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite, and
QuikSCAT The NASA QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) was an Earth observation satellite carrying the SeaWinds scatterometer. Its primary mission was to measure the surface wind speed and direction over the ice-free global oceans via its effect on water waves. ...
, as well as the Small Explorer program which includes
Galaxy Evolution Explorer Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX or Explorer 83 or SMEX-7) was a NASA orbiting space telescope designed to observe the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation in the universe. In addition to paving the way ...
, the
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS, also Explorer 74 and SMEX-3) is a NASA submillimetre astronomy satellite, and is the fourth spacecraft in the Small Explorer program (SMEX). It was launched on 6 December 1998, at 00:57:54 UTC, fro ...
,
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, previously called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, is a NASA three-telescope space observatory for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray, and UV/visible light at the location o ...
, Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics,
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), also called Explorer 94 and SMEX-12, is a NASA solar observation satellite. The mission was funded through the Small Explorer program to investigate the physical conditions of the solar limb, par ...
, and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer. SvalSat and Poker Flat are collectively responsible for half of the network's 140 daily passes. Satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration using SvalSat includes the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership and the
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) monitors meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics for the United States Department of Defense. The program is managed by the United States Space Force with on-orbit operat ...
. Other American satellites include the
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
's
Landsat 5 Landsat 5 was a low Earth orbit satellite launched on March 1, 1984, to collect imagery of the surface of Earth. A continuation of the Landsat Program, Landsat 5 was jointly managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aerona ...
and
Landsat 7 Landsat 7 is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite photos, providing up-to-date and cloud-free images. The Landsat program is managed and ...
and the private
Iridium Communications Iridium Communications Inc. (formerly Iridium Satellite LLC) is a publicly traded American company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States. Iridium operates the Iridium satellite constellation, a system of 80 satellites: 66 are active ...
' satellites.Wormdal (2011): 13 The European Space Agency operates several antennas, which are able to transmit in the S band and receive in the S and X band. ESA uses the facility for tracking, telemetry, telecommand, radiometric measurements and system validation. Satellites include European Remote-Sensing Satellite 2, Sentinel 1, 2, 3 and 5P and
Envisat Envisat ("Environmental Satellite") is a large Earth-observing satellite which has been inactive since 2012. It is still in orbit and considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was the world's largest civilian Ear ...
. The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites uses SvalSat as a ground station for its
MetOp MetOp (Meteorological Operational satellite) is a series of three polar-orbiting meteorological satellites developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites ...
satellites, which allows communication with all MetOp orbits. SvalSat serves as one of five uplink stations and as a sensor station for
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
. Five antennas are used for Galileo, including one with a diameter and four at . The
Norwegian Coastal Administration Norwegian Coastal Administration () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation infrastructure, pilotage and harbour and port infrastr ...
uses SvalSat to track ships'
Automatic Identification System The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transceivers on ships and is used by vessel traffic services (VTS). When satellites are used to receive AIS signatures, the term ''Satellite-AIS'' (S-AIS) is ...
in Norwegian waters via
AISSat-1 AISSat-1 is a satellite used to receive Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals. Launched on 12 June 2010 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre as a secondary payload, AISSat-1 is in a Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. Initially a development pro ...
. The
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...
uses SvalSat for its Hinode mission.Sakurai (2008): 22 Other customers include
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates MDA Space Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics and space operations, and satellite systems. History MDA Space (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associat ...
's
Radarsat-1 RADARSAT-1 was Canada's first commercial Earth observation satellite. It utilized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain images of the Earth's surface to manage natural resources and monitor global climate change. As of March 2013, the sate ...
and
Radarsat-2 RADARSAT-2 is a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Earth observation satellite. It launched on 14 December 2007 aboard a Starsem Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is owned by MDA (formerly MacDonald Dettwiler and As ...
, the Taiwanese
National Space Organization Taiwan Space Agency (abbreviated TASA), formerly the National Space Organization (NSPO) from 1991 to 2023, is the national civilian space agency of Taiwan, under the auspices of the National Science and Technology Council. TASA is involved in ...
's Formosat-2, the
Korea Aerospace Research Institute The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI; ), established in 1989, is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea. Its main laboratories are located in Daejeon, in the Daedeok Science Town. KARI's vision is to continue building upon in ...
of South Korea's
Arirang-2 KOMPSAT-2 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-2), also known as Arirang-2, is a South Korean multipurpose Earth observation satellite. It was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 07:45:43 UTC (16:05:43 KST) on 28 July 2006. It began to tr ...
, the
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...
's
Technology Experiment Satellite Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) is an Indian remote sensing and photo-reconnaissance satellite. Launch Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle#PSLV-C3, PSLV-C3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan ...
,
Cartosat-1 Cartosat-1 (formerly IRS-P5) is a stereoscopic Earth observation satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit, and the first one of the Cartosat series of satellites. The eleventh satellite of ISRO in Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series. The ...
and
Cartosat-2 Cartosat-2 was an Earth observation satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit and the second of the Cartosat series of satellites. The satellite was built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Weighing around 68 ...
, the German
RapidEye RapidEye AG was a German geospatial information provider focused on assisting in management decision-making through services based on their own Earth-observation imagery. The company operated a five-satellite constellation producing 5-meter re ...
constellation, the
Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
's
COSMO-SkyMed COSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth-observation satellite space-based radar system funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence and conducted by the Ital ...
and the
German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...
's
TerraSAR-X TerraSAR-X is an imaging radar Earth observation satellite, a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Astrium, EADS Astrium. The exclusive commercial exploitation rights ar ...
.


References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * *


External links

* {{Svalbard Earth stations in Norway Longyearbyen Science and technology in Svalbard 1997 establishments in Norway Kongsberg Gruppen Norwegian Space Centre NASA radio communications and spacecraft tracking facilities European Space Agency facilities Buildings and structures in Svalbard