The objective of this activity is to support Portugal in the development of a National tracking capability on the Azores islands by relocating the former ESTRACK antenna of Perth (Australia) to the island of Santa Maria, Azores and handing it over there to Portugal. The specific objectives of this activity are to

- perform high level tests of Perth ground station antenna, to dismantle it and to transport it

- design (RF, servo, mechanics, infrastructure), construct, validate and test a 15m antenna station at S-band (uplink/downlink) and X-band (uplink/downlink) with autotrack capabilities at both bands and to enhance it to enable S-band dual spacecraft TC uplink and TM downlink capability

 

 

The antenna, whose property transfer is governed by a transfer of ownership agreement signed between ESA and Portugal, will be re-erected on or next to the existing Santa Maria site. It will be used to serve a range of customers including ESA. Services that will be available to the Agency from that newly erected antenna comprise TTC tracking for science and Earth observation missions, download of Earth observation payload data and launcher tracking. Similar services will be offered to non-ESA customers.

 

The potential applications, for which the front-end will be validated as part of this activity, are the following:

• ESA PROBA-3 prime station

• Ariane/Soyuz tracking support

• ESTRACK TTC support stations

• European Commission Sentinel Programme support station for data downlink

 

The present activity covers all work required for a safe dismantling, packing, shipment, re-erection and validation at Santa Maria. In order to prepare the antenna for some of its specific future uses, for instance support to the Agency?s PROBA-3 mission, and to modernise several technology elements, some re-engineering will be carried out on the front-end as part of the re-erection work. As part of the re-engineering works, emphasis will be also placed on low operability and maintenance costs.

 

This activity will take into account:

• a modular design and the capability of serving multiple types of missions and customers

• a reliable and cost-effective design with reduced recurrent costs

• the adaptation of the interfaces for PROBA-3 mission

• the capability to support launcher tracking under strong wind conditions

 

The work to be carried will be split into two phases.

 

Phase 1 is expected to last six months with a cost of 500 KEuro. The major tasks foreseen for phase 1 are as follows:

• perform extended performance tests of the Perth ground station antenna prior to its dismantling. This is to establish the reference for the performance of that be re-erected antenna.

• dismantle and pack all re-usable parts of PER-1 for a future installation at Santa Maria island, Portugal

• transport the re-usable parts to Santa Maria harbour

• refurbish all metallic structure according to Maritime standards

 

Phase 2 is expected to last 14 months with a proposed cost of 2100 KEuro. The major tasks foreseen for phase 2 are as follows:

• re-design the mechanical / servo / RF parts taking into account the following new requirements

• dual spacecraft TC uplink and TM downlink capabilities (pre-requisite for PROBA 3)

• launcher support requirements for performing autotrack under strong wind conditions present at Santa Maria

• earth observation data downlink capability at X-band

• low recurrent costs by adopting the latest state-of-the-arts MC technology, a simplified design approach and essentially COTS components

• adoption of latest industrial standards for machining and electrical wiring

• modularity for supporting several types of missions (unified front-end interface)

• procure and verify the new equipment according to the agreed design

• assemble the antenna on top of the pedestal (the pedestal will be procured by Portugal in a separate contract)

• inspect and test the antenna to verify the performance obtained

• deliver the relevant documentation for operating and maintaining the antenna (electrical block diagram, mechanical drawings, user manual, preventive maintenance manual, corrective maintenance manual, obsolescence manual)