Platåberget, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

Svalbard Satellite Station

Date Built:

1967

Type

Communication

Purpose

The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites uses SvalSat as a ground station for its MetOp satellites, which allows communication with all MetOp orbits. SvalSat serves as one of five uplink stations and as a sensor station for Galileo. SvalSat and KSAT's Troll Satellite Station (TrollSat) in Antarctica are the only ground stations that can see a low altitude polar orbiting satellite 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 (EUMETSAT), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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.

Size Of Land

62 700 sq km

Site Owners

KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services)

Site Operators

KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services)

Other Facilities

Security and Surveillance, Data Processing and Storage, Environmental Control Systems, Communication Infrastructure, Power Supply Systems, Technical Support Workshops

Affiliated Organizations

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA)

References