ground stations
Terrestrial communication hubs
Ground stations are facilities on Earth that communicate with spacecraft, satellites, or aircraft.
They contain antennas and equipment to send commands upward and receive data downward—tracking positions, relaying signals, or downloading imagery.
A network of ground stations around the globe ensures continuous contact as satellites orbit: NASA operates ground stations on several continents.
Concave aerial receiving transmissions
- antennaBroadcast signal receiver
- radomeRadio-transparent protective enclosure
- control roomFacility housing operational oversight
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
transmitter · uplink · downlink · modem · relay · tower · array · amplifier
Stations reaching distant craft
- SvalbardNorwegian Arctic archipelago
- CanberraAustralia's federal seat
- GoldstoneProper name, various uses
- MadridSpain's governmental seat
interoperability · redundancy · global coverage · distributed · lease
Monitoring location over time
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- telemetryDistant automated data collection
- handoverTransfer of control
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
maintenance · coverage · mission control · shift schedule · operator · logbook
Rate of recurrence
- bandwidthData transmission capacity
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- demodulationRecovering signal from carrier
- encodingConverting data to format
decoding · encryption · error correction · bitrate · latency · signal-to-noise · carrier · channel
satellite dish
Concave aerial receiving transmissions
- antennaBroadcast signal receiver
- radomeRadio-transparent protective enclosure
- control roomFacility housing operational oversight
receiver · transmitter · uplink · downlink · modem · relay · tower · array · amplifier · pedestal
deep space network
Stations reaching distant craft
- SvalbardNorwegian Arctic archipelago
- CanberraAustralia's federal seat
- GoldstoneProper name, various uses
Madrid · interoperability · redundancy · global coverage · distributed · lease
tracking
Monitoring location over time
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- telemetryDistant automated data collection
- handoverTransfer of control
calibration · maintenance · coverage · mission control · shift schedule · operator · logbook
frequency
Rate of recurrence
- bandwidthData transmission capacity
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- demodulationRecovering signal from carrier
encoding · decoding · encryption · error correction · bitrate · latency · signal-to-noise · carrier · channel · protocol
- broadcast facilitiesbroadcast studio, broadcast towers, broadcast tower, broadcast equipment, broadcast center
- space industrySpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA, space tourism, satellites
- Earth observationremote sensing, satellite imagery, satellite data, weather satellites, thermal imaging
- ozone monitoringozone levels, ozone layer, ozone depletion, ozone hole, stratosphere
- satellite termssatellite TV, satellite radio, satellite internet, satellite dish, uplink
- meteorologyweather, rain, wind, snow, clouds
ground stationssatellites
Bodies circling larger ones
spacecraft · space stations · communication satellites · space vehicles · Hubble Space Telescope
station, ground, background, underground, grounds, playground, grounded, grounding, campground