ESA’s fourth Deep Space Antenna unveiled in New Norcia, Western Australia

Deep Space antenna copyright Thales Alenia Space copy

The European Deep Space Antenna Alliance (E-DSA²) formed by Thales Alenia Space, Schwartz Hautmont and mtex antenna technology, celebrated the inauguration of the European Space Agency’s NNO-3 deep space antenna masterpiece for the New Norcia ground station near Perth, Australia, on October 4. NNO-3 is part of ESA’s ESTRACK global network of ground stations.

This new-generation 35-meter antenna will enable ESA to increase its communication capabilities in X, K and Ka frequency bands. It will expand its antennas network made for tracking and collecting scientific data from ESA spacecraft in the solar system, including missions such as the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, currently orbiting around the Red Planed or Euclid which will cover one third of the sky studying dark matter and energy, to name a few. These jewels of high technology will be joined by upcoming missions such as Plato, designed to detect and observe exoplanets, whose launch is scheduled for next year.