TT&C, data reception, hosting and lunar mission services
The Western Australia Space Center (WASC) is operated and maintained by SSC’s Australia-based company SSC Space Australia Pty Ltd. The station is remotely controlled from the SSC Network Management Centers in Kiruna, Sweden and Horsham, PA USA.
The site has four full-motion antennas installed with capabilities to support satellites, launchers and lunar missions with Telemetry Tracking & Command (TT&C) and Data Reception services. The antenna systems support satellites, launchers and lunar missions in the frequency range of S, X and Ku-Band.
The station design is built to support multiple missions simultaneously with a high level of redundancy. The entire station, including the antenna system, is fully supported by a UPS power supply system that allows uninterrupted transfer between commercial electrical power and the backup generator. This design prevents the ground station from power outages during critical supports and normal operations. The ground station includes a data center which houses system electronics, data processing and frequency conversion equipment.
At WASC SSC offers customers available space for indoor and outdoor hosting installation. Today SSC hosts eight antenna systems at WASC including dedicated equipment shelters and rack space within SSC data center.
Location
Western Australia Space Center, also called the “Pete Thomas” Facility, is located in Western Australia, 250 meters above sea level and approximately 400 kilometers northwest of Perth.
From this advantageous position, WASC provides
- geostationary (GEO) orbit raising operations and first acquisition of the launch vehicle
- lunar support
- spacecraft telemetry at orbit insertion/deployment and daily pass support to low-earth orbit (LEO) missions
When this station is used in combination with SSC’s Punta Arenas Satellite Station in Chile unmatched coverage opportunities are available for polar orbiting satellites.
