Page 40 - hisdeSAT annual report 2015

HISDE S AT ANNU AL REPOR T 2 015

3.3

SATELLITE OPERATIONS

Control and operation of the satellites and their
platforms are a crucial part of the activities of
HISDESAT. These services include, among others:
sending tele-commands to either the platform fully functional and all re-
or the payload; the reception and management dundant elements available.
of all the telemetry; the management of alarms
Over the last year more than
and contingencies; the tracking and monito-
200 real-time operational
ring of the health status of each of the satellite
procedures have been com-
subsystems; determining satellite position and
pleted on the satellite, inclu-
controlling the orbit via calculations and ma-
ding 55 maintenance and
noeuvres; the planning of operations; and – in
orbital control manoeuvres
general – the task of operating the platform and
as well as procedures rela-
all its subsystems.
ted to payload communica-
It has been a decade since the start of HISDESAT’s tions, sensor inhibitions, ad-
real-time satellite operations, and up to now the justment of on-board clocks,
communication system formed by the geosta- control parameter updates,
tionary satellites SpainSAT and XTAR-EUR has memory dumps, and test
remained in orbit and fully operational. runs of redundant elements.
In addition, numerous sate-
In parallel, work has continued on operational pre-
llite status monitoring pro-
parations for PAZ, the low orbit radar observa-
cedures were run, allowing
tion satellite whose mission and operation is the
to predict the behaviour
responsibility of HISDESAT. Specifically, a number
and performance of each
of training courses for the operation of Ground
subsystem, thus improving
Segment located in Torrejón have been run.
operating efficiency and re-
The sum of all these activities, encompassing ducing fuel consumption.
both observation and communication, positions In parallel, operational proce-
HISDESAT as the only national player and one dures have also been effec-
of only a handful global multi-mission satellite ted at the satellite ground
operators, both in low (LEO) and geostationary control centre – for example
orbits (GEO).
the nearly 80 orbital deter-
In particular, the SpainSAT satellite has comple- mination processes conduc-
ted more than nine years of operation in orbit ted throughout 2015, which
during 2015, and continues with all subsystems allow us to know the preci-
se position of the satellite
within the orbital window it
shares with other satellites.

40
40