Special Projects: Ground Stations

Figure 1: SFL’s Mission Control Center, Toronto, Canada

The Space Flight Laboratory operates a Mission Control Center (MCC) that is connected to S-band and UHF ground stations located at UTIAS. The MCC is also networked to stations around the world. Each mission uses its own dedicated ground station or network of ground stations. SFL is able to operate ground stations remotely from its MCC. Ground station software provides priority scheduling at each location, and seamless transitions from one satellite to the next. Operations are typically automated to the greatest extent possible after satellite commissioning, resulting in low operational cost for each mission. SFL has extensive experience in setting up ground stations in various countries when local control or geographical location is paramount. The table below gives examples of stations that were installed or retrofitted with SFL ground station hardware and software.

Figure 2a) S-band antenna tower, Toronto

Figure 2b) Technical University Vienna

Figure 2c) Graz University of Technology, Austria