TT&C, data reception, hosting and lunar mission services
The Western Australia Space Centre (WASC) is operated and maintained by SSC Space’s Australia-based company SSC Space Australia Pty Ltd. The station is remotely controlled from the SSC Space Network Management Centres in Kiruna, Sweden and Nort Wales, PA USA.
The site has multiple full-motion antennas from 7.3 to 13.5m 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 site is also supporting the SSC Space Go services by 4m-class S and X-band antennas.
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.
The station also employs a large solar panel array to reduce CO2 emissions resulting from electricity consumption from the grid.
Location
Western Australia Space Center, 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 Space’s Punta Arenas Satellite Station in Chile unmatched coverage opportunities are available for polar orbiting satellites.
