Giant tracking station readies for operation

One of the world’s most sophisticated satellite tracking stations is nearing inauguration in Malargüe, Argentina, 1000 km west of Buenos Aires. The new station will ensure reliable communications with missions voyaging hundreds of millions of kilometres into our Solar System.

ESA’s new tracking station, near the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, joins two existing stations in Spain and Australia to provide global coverage for the Agency’s deep-space missions.  

Deep Space Antenna 3 – or DSA 3 – will send commands, receive data and perform radiometric measurements with missions such as Mars Express, Venus Express, Rosetta, Herschel, Planck, Gaia, BepiColombo, ExoMars, Solar Orbiter and Juice.

With major construction complete, teams are preparing DSA 3 for hand-over to operations, formal inauguration late this year and entry in routine service early in 2013. 

First test signals received from Mars Express

The first test signals were received in June 2012 from Mars Express, over a distance of about 193 million km, proving that the station’s technology is ready for duty.

 “Initial in-service testing with the Malargüe station shows excellent results.” “Our initial in-service testing with the Malargüe station shows excellent results,” says Roberto Maddè, ESA’s project manager for DSA 3 construction.

“We have been able to quickly and accurately acquire signals from ESA and NASA spacecraft, and our station is performing better than specified.” Maddè says part of the reason for the excellent performance is the improved ultra-low-temperature amplifiers installed at the station, and also the fact that it’s located at 1500m altitude in the clear Argentinian desert air. 

Completing a trio of deep space stations

DSA 3 joins the Agency’s existing DSA 1 and DSA 2 stations in New Norcia, Western Australia, and Cebreros, Spain, respectively, to provide the third link in a global network that is controlled remotely by engineers at ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, and Germany. 

Lifting the huge antenna dish into place 

Like the New Norcia and Cebreros stations, Malargüe is equipped with a giant 35 m-diameter dish antenna and super-sophisticated cryogenically cooled low-noise amplifiers to detect faint signals and operate at various power levels – up to 20 kW – to transmit commands.

The tracking capability of all three ESA deep space stations also provides support to partner agencies such as NASA and Japan’s JAXA, who likewise make their tracking networks available to ESA missions, helping to boost science data return for all.

The three are also equipped for radio science, which studies how matter, such as planetary atmospheres, affects the radio waves as they pass through. This can provide important information on the composition for the atmospheres around Mars, Venus or the Sun, for example.

Using galaxies to pin point satellite locations

The ESA stations can use the highly accurate ‘delta – Differential One-Way Ranging’ (delta-DOR) technique for very accurate locating and navigation of spacecraft in our Solar System. This sophisticated method uses quasi-stellar radio sources – very energetic and distant active galaxy centres – as calibration points to fix the location of a spacecraft to within a few metres. 

Boosting tracking capacity to support future missions

“The commissioning of this station into ESA´s deep-space network allows us to serve the most demanding scientific missions of ESA and provide the required communication capacity for transferring large volumes of scientific data from the sophisticated instruments onboard ESA spacecraft,” says Manfred Lugert, ESA’s Head of Ground Facilities Operations. 

“The design, development and construction of this station marks a huge success for ESA and our industrial partners,” says Juan Miro, ESA’s Head of Ground Systems Engineering. “It helps to confirm ESA as Europe’s top space research and development organisation.”

For further information visit: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBJD52Q8H_index_0.html

Nereidum Montes helps unlock Mars’ glacial past

On 6 June, the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express revisited the Argyre basin as featured in our October release, but this time aiming at Nereidum Montes, some 380 km northeast of Hooke crater.

The stunning rugged terrain of Nereidum Montes marks the far northern extent of Argyre, one of the largest impact basins on Mars. Nereidum Montes stretches almost 1150 km and was named by the noted Greek astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi (1870–1944).

Based on his extensive observations of Mars, Antoniadi famously concluded that the ‘canals’ on Mars reported by Percival Lowell were, in fact, just an optical illusion.

Nereidum Montes perspective view

The images captured by Mars Express show a portion of the region, displaying multiple fluvial, glacial and wind-driven features. Extensive dendritic drainage patterns, seen towards the north (lower right side) of the first and topographic images, were formed when liquid water drained into deeper regions within the area.

On Earth, tree-like channels of this kind are usually formed by surface runoff after significant rainfall, or when snow or ice melts. Similar processes are thought to have occurred on Mars in the distant past, when scientists now know there to have been water on the surface of the Red Planet.

Several of the craters within the region, particularly in eastern parts (lower section) of the first image, show concentric crater fill, a distinctive martian process marked by rings of surface fluctuations within a crater rim.

The ratios between the diameter and depth of the filled craters suggest that there may still be water ice, possibly in the form of ancient glaciers, present below the dry surface debris cover.   

Nereidum Montes in context 

Scientists have estimated that the water-ice depth in these craters varies from several tens up to hundreds of metres. The largest crater on the south western side (top-left half) of the first and topographic images appears to have spilled out a glacier-like formation towards lower-lying parts of the region (shown as blue in the topographic image).

Topographical view

A smooth area to the east of (below) the glacial feature appears to be the youngest within the image, evidenced by an almost complete lack of cratering.

Another indication of subsurface water is seen in the fluidised ejecta blanket surrounding the crater at the northern edge (right-hand side) of the first and topographic images. These ejecta structures can develop when a comet or asteroid hits a surface saturated with water or water ice.

Perspective view

Finally, throughout the images and often near the wind-sheltered sides of mounds and canyons, extensive rippling sand dune fields are seen to have formed. 

3D view

In-depth studies of regions such as Nereidum Montes play an essential role in unlocking the geological past of our terrestrial neighbour, as well as helping to find exciting regions for future robotic and human explorers to visit.

For further information visit: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMO3S52Q8H_index_0.html

Indian operators have until Dec. 31 to enable BlackBerry monitoring

India's telecom department (DoT) has demanded mobile operators enable the monitoring of BlackBerry services and user traffic by Dec. 31 this year. Failure to do so will result in these services being shut down.

BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion (RIM) had set up a local server in Mumbai since last February to allow Indian security agencies to monitor data flow between its BlackBerry Internet browsing and Messenger services. However, several local mobile operators had fallen behind schedule to connect to this system and test lawful interception capabilities, prompting the DoT to set the December deadline, the Hindu Business Line reported Wednesday.

It cited an internal DoT memo which said: "The BlackBerry Interception Solution shall be deployed and offered for testing to the respective Telecom Enforcement, Resource, and Monitoring Cells [which is the monitoring wing of the DoT] on or before Dec. 31, in such a manner that the services can be intercepted in a readable format.

"Failing the successful demonstration, the BlackBerry services shall be restrained to be offered to subscribers from Jan. 1, 2013."The stipulated deadline is the latest turn of events, which have been ongoing for over two years, regarding the Indian government's move to have the ability to intercept BlackBerry services, the report noted.

The government in August 2010 threatened to block RIM's BlackBerry services if it was not provided unencrypted access to Indian customers' e-mail and instant messaging. Besides BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Messenger, the Canadian smartphone maker also offers an e-mail client BlackBerry Enterprise Service, but it said it was unable to provide a technical solution for this service to be monitored. As a workaround, Indian security agencies would have to track all individual servers set up by corporations using this service.

To enable this, the DoT told operators to state the details of the server identity linked to each BlackBerry device on customer acquisition forms at the time of activating the connection, the report said. This would allow security agencies to directly access the specific server servicing a particular subscriber.

For further information visit: http://www.zdnet.com/in/indian-operators-have-until-dec-31-to-enable-blackberry-monitoring-7000007075/

Security Threat to Skype in India; Government Warns Users

"A malicious spam campaign is on the rise targeting Skype users by sending instant message which appears to come from friends in the Skype contact list," a government advisory said to users on Tuesday, according to Press Trust of India.

The popular Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service was identified with malevolent content and links, after which cyber security officials strictly warned users not to click on such links which hints a fraud network.

In the wake of the newly emerged threat, cyber security experts have recommended a number of measures to tackle the spam. The authoritative body The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which has been making efforts to tackle the threat, said the spam "eventually controls the victim machine by opening a backdoor and communicating to a remote http server".

"The worm [is] reported as stealing user credentials, engaging in click fraud activities and pose as ransom ware," the agency added. The advisory has asked users to download the latest version of Skype from a trustworthy source and update anti-virus software on their systems.

"Download the latest version of the Skype from the trusted markets, install and maintain updated anti-virus software at gateway and desktop level, use caution when opening attachments and accepting file transfers, disable auto play feature as a safe practice," the agency said."Use caution when clicking on links to web pages and protect yourself against social engineering attacks," it added.

Skype users have been facing problems of malicious content since the beginning of October. According to Trend Micro, messages like "lol is this new profile pic?" have been lurking in the vicinity of cyber networks of Indian users. A click on the message will lead to the download of malicious spam on a user's system.

For further information visit: http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/399883/20121031/skype-security-threats-india-spam-malware.htm

Scientists Monitor Comet Breakup

The Hergenrother comet is currently traversing the inner-solar system. Amateur and professional astronomers alike have been following the icy-dirt ball over the past several weeks as it has been generating a series of impressive outbursts of cometary-dust material.

Now comes word that the comet's nucleus has taken the next step in its relationship with Mother Nature."Comet Hergenrother is splitting apart," said Rachel Stevenson, a post-doctoral fellow working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"Using the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Gemini North Telescope on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, we have resolved that the nucleus of the comet has separated into at least four distinct pieces resulting in a large increase in dust material in its coma."With more material to reflect the sun's rays, the comet's coma has brightened considerably.

"The comet fragments are considerably fainter than the nucleus," said James Bauer, the deputy principal investigator for NASA's NEOWISE mission, from the California Institute of Technology. "This is suggestive of chunks of material being ejected from the surface."

The comet's fragmentation event was initially detected on Oct. 26 by a team of astronomers from the Remanzacco Observatory, using the Faulkes Telescope North in Haleakala, Hawaii. The initial fragment was also imaged by the WIYN telescope group at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

For those interested in viewing Hergenrother, with a larger-sized telescope and a dark sky, the comet can be seen in between the constellations of Andromeda and Lacerta.The orbit of comet 168P/Hergenrother comet is well understood. The comet, nor any of its fragments, is a threat to Earth.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Scientists_Monitor_Comet_Breakup_999.html

Space Systems Loral Selected by USAF to Develop Next Gen Protected Military Satellite Communications

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has announced that it was selected by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) to develop affordable design concepts for next generation Protected Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM). SS/L has a long history of successfully delivering timely and affordable high-performance commercial satellite systems.

As a prime contractor leading several protected communications system and technology domain expert companies, SS/L is well-positioned to provide proven solutions with shorter schedules and lower, better controlled cost, to defend against growing and changing intentional jamming and cyber threats and to deliver advanced communications capability to the warfighter.

In today's cost-conscious environment, the objective of the SMC program is to develop practical new architectures and technologies that will protect increasingly contested and threatened high security communications. Space Systems/Loral will combine its expertise and existing technologies from commercial developments together with existing military technologies provided by a team of domain experts to assess options for both space and ground segment design.

"The protected MILSATCOM contract is an opportunity for SS/L to continue its efforts to serve the U.S. Government with cost-effective solutions based on commercial market innovation," said John Celli, president of SS/L.

"Working with our industry partners, we will use domain expertise, proven military technology, and our supply chain efficiencies to quickly bring increased capability to the warfighter."The SS/L business is based on addressing changing requirements in mobile communications, broadband and high definition video broadcasting within the budget and schedule constraints of the commercial marketplace.

For the SMC's Protected MILSATCOM program, SS/L will help remedy existing gaps in the space communications layer and demonstrate specific design concepts focused on improved life-cycle affordability that will meet the warfighter needs far into the future.

For further information visit: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Space_Systems_Loral_Selected_by_USAF_to_Develop_Next_Gen_Protected_Military_Satellite_Communications_999.html

Russian Proton Briz-M Launches Yamal Satellites Into Orbit

The Russian Proton-M launch vehicle carrying Yamal-300K telecoms satellite and Luch 5B relay satellite lifted off earlier on Saturday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Both Yamal satellites launched earlier have successfully reached orbit, Russia's space agency Roscosmos confirmed on Saturday morning.

"The separation of the Yamal-300K from the Briz-M booster went smoothly, and to schedule," a Roscosmos spokesman told RIA Novosti on Saturday, adding that the same was true of the Luch 5B relay satellite, and confirming that both had entered orbit. The Russian Proton-M launch vehicle carrying Yamal-300K telecoms satellite and Luch 5B relay satellite lifted off earlier on Saturday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

The satellites were built by Russia's Reshetnev space company.

The Yamal-300K will expand the cluster of Yamal class telecoms satellites operated by Gazprom Space Systems (GSS), a telecommunications arm of Russia's energy giant Gazprom.

The satellite is fitted with a combined payload including eight active 72 MHz transponders in C-band and eighteen active 72 MHz transponders in Ku-band.

Yamal-300K service zone covers 95% of the Russian territory.

The dual-purpose geostationary Luch 5B satellite has been primarily designed to relay live telemetry and other data from low-orbiting space vehicles as they fly beyond the communication range of ground control stations.

It is also capable of tracking low-flying space objects along their trajectories thanks to its two high-precision antennas operating in Ku-band and S-band.

For further information visit: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russian_Proton_Briz_M_Launches_Yamal_Satellites_Into_Orbit_999.html