Our multimedia team has created a 3D model of ESAC’s VIL-1 Antenna to use it in videos and other multimedia material with publicity, educational and science dissemination purposes.
ESA’s Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station, widely known as VILSPA, was a ground station part of ESA’s tracking station network (ESTRACK). Estrack’s (and inherently Vilspa’s) mission is to communicate with ESA’s spacecrafts, providing a link between them and ESOC (the European Space Operations Centre). To communicate with spacecrafts, transmite commands (to correct trajectories or operate instruments) and receive scientific data and spacecraft status information, several antenas are built at each Estrack station. More than half a dozen large dish antennae were installed at VILSPA, one of them being VIL-1.
VIL-1: a 15-metre diameter dish antenna with reception in S-band and transmission in S-band including an auto track capability, a ranging system, a frequency and timing system, a monitoring and control system, and a communications system.
Back in 2004, Vilspa turned into ESAC (the European Space Astronomy Centre), still some of the antennae, such as VIL-1 and VIL-2, were not dismantled and are still used as backup or for educational purposes in the educational project CESAR.
Our VIL-1 3D model is currently being used by CESAR with publicity, educational and science dissemination purposes.
Cover Image © ESAC
