ISDEFE TAKES PART IN THE GROUND SEGMENT FOR THE PAZ SATELLITE

The Spanish PAZ satellite was successfully launched yesterday from the Vandenberg AF Base in California.

The Paz mission, the radar part of the National Earth Observation Satellite Programme (PNOTS), will put Spain at the forefront of the European space industry, making it the third European country (alongside Germany and Italy) to have a satellite with synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The satellite has dual civil-military capabilities and will primarily be used for security and defence needs, but also for certain civil purposes.

The space segment of the PAZ mission is owned by Hisdesat Servicios Estratégicos S.A., which is also responsible for its operation. Its main payload is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that operates in the X band, which allows it to work day and night in any weather conditions.

The ground segment of PAZ is owned by INTA, which is responsible for its development and maintenance at three locations: the INTA Space Centre in Torrejón (CEIT), where the systems that comprise the nominal operations centre and the main antenna for tracking and downloading data from the PAZ satellite are located (the antenna was installed in 2012 with support from the Isdefe engineering team, and a signal from the antenna was received shortly after launch of the PAZ satellite); the Centre for Defence Users, located in the Spanish Air Force’s Centre for Space Observation Systems (CESAEROB); and the Backup Centre, at INTA’s facilities in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria), where the backup systems for critical flight operations are located. This centre has a 15-m antenna that can provide tracking (TT&C) services if the main site goes offline.

The Isdefe team has been involved from the start in defining the requirements for the Ground Segment of the National Earth Observation Satellite Programme (PNOTS), which consists of the PAZ (radar) and INGENIO (optical) satellites. Isdefe also provides specialised services at both the INTA Space Centre in Torrejón (CEIT) and the Canaries Space Centre (CEC) as part of the satellite’s ground segment.