// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM

Ground Station

A terrestrial facility equipped with antennas and electronic equipment to communicate with spacecraft. It's the link between Earth-based operators and satellites or other space assets.

TECHNICAL DEFINITION

A ground station is an Earth-based facility comprising antennas, receivers, transmitters, and data processing systems, designed for two-way communication with orbiting satellites or deep-space probes, facilitating telemetry reception, command transmission, and tracking.

BACKGROUND

Bigelow Aerospace was an American space design and manufacturing company which ceased operations in 2020. It was an aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactured and developed expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and was based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It was funded in large part by the profit Bigelow gained through his ownership of the hotel chain Budget Suites of America.

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SYNONYMS & ALIASES

  • Earth station
  • Tracking station
  • Satellite dish
  • Telemetry station

USAGE NOTE

Ground stations are vital for satellite operations, including data reception and command uplinks.

DEVELOPERS

Organizations developing technology related to Ground Station.

  • AWS Ground Station

    Amazon Web Services' fully managed service that lets you control satellite communications, process satellite data, and scale your satellite operations without having to build or maintain your own ground station infrastructure.

  • Microsoft Azure Orbital

    Microsoft's cloud service that provides a single platform to connect to satellites, process data, and integrate with Azure services, simplifying the management of satellite operations and ground segment infrastructure.

  • KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services)

    A leading provider of ground station services for polar orbiting satellites, offering a global network of ground stations and data reception, processing, and delivery services for a wide range of missions.

  • Viasat

    A global communications company that provides high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems, developing and operating its own ground infrastructure and terminals for satellite communications.

  • SpaceX

    Designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, and operates the Starlink satellite internet constellation, which relies on a vast global network of proprietary ground stations for connectivity.

  • Swedish Space Corporation (SSC)

    A global provider of advanced space services, including a global network of ground stations that offer satellite command and control, data reception, and launch services for various space missions.

  • Atlas Space Operations

    Offers a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ground network that provides flexible and scalable ground station communication services for satellite operators, focusing on a 'unified ground' approach.

  • Leaf Space

    An Italian company providing ground segment as a service (GSaaS), building and operating a global network of small satellite ground stations to offer flexible and cost-effective communication services for satellite operators.

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