UK-based Surrey Satellite (News - Alert) Technology Ltd (SSTL) was chosen by RapidEye AG, a geospatial information provider, in an upgrade of its ground station facilities.
Engineers from SSTL's Ground Systems Group will provide a spacecraft control center for RapidEye's headquarters in Brandenburg, Germany, according to a company statement. In addition, they will help in the relocation of the company’s Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT and C) ground station equipment to the Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) facility in Svalbard, Norway. The Norwegian site receives data from five satellites which orbit the Earth.
Also, SSTL's Ground Systems Group will provide equipment to the X-Band SG-9 antenna system in Svalbard. It will offer tracking, telemetry and command, and S-band data recovery.
The Spacecraft Control Center in Brandenburg was built by SSTL in 2006.
In other company news, Martin Sweeting, founder and executive chairman of SSTL and director of the Surrey Space Center at the University of Surrey, was given the International von Kármán Wings Award for his contributions to aerospace, according to a company statement. Sweeting was recognized for his contributions to the aerospace field – both in academics and in industry. He was cited also for his pioneering efforts in rapid-response, low-cost and small-sized satellites.
In another related story, Teledyne DALSA will partner with SSTL to develop a new sensor for an Earth observation application, TMCnet reported. The project will likely provide high-resolution images during 2014.
SSTL provides space missions for Earth observation, science and communications.
Since 1981, SSTL has built and launched 39 satellites. The company designs, makes and operates satellites and ground systems. In 2008, the company set up a U.S. subsidiary, Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC (SST-US). SSTL is owned by Astrium BV.
Edited by Brooke Neuman