ESA (European Space Agency) - Redu

The ESA Redu Center is responsible for tracking and testing a range of satellites.

It is part of the ESA ground station network and is home to the so-called space weather data centre.

The ground station has been operational since January 1, 1968 and covers a total area of 29,000 square meters. On an area of 3,000 square meters there are control centers, rooms with technical equipment and antenna bunkers. The ESA Redu Center is permanently staffed and secured.

The ESA Redu Center provides S-band connections to the ESA network of ground stations and is also responsible for testing telecommunications and navigation satellites in orbit ( in-orbit testing or IOT ). Redu communicates with the Artemis, Integral and Proba satellites and serves as a backup for XMM-Newton.

There are 43 rotatable antennas on the site that operate in different frequency bands (S, Ku, Ka, L and C). The largest antennas are the Galileo IOT L-band (a dish-shaped antenna with a diameter of 20 meters) , the Estrack S-band (15 meters) and the TMS-1M Ka-band (13.5 meters). The 20 meter L-band, the 4.5 meter C-band and the UHF antennas Galileo IOT were joined by other antennas: 15 antennas of different sizes, including a 13 meter Ku dish. They serve as a backup for the artificial satellites of the satellite operator SES in Betzdorf in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The IOT facilities (antennas, measuring equipment, data processing facilities) are also at the service of communication satellites (in the Ku and Ka band) that are used for ESA programs such as Artemis and for European industry (Avanti, Eutelsat, SES). .

The ever-increasing number of activities led to Redu being recognized in 2009 as an important ESA center fully integrated into the overall ESA structure.

Willem Vandenameele