SSC has been awarded several additional satellite ground station contracts by ESA for Copernicus, EU’s Earth Observation program. The new contracts include ground station support from Punta Arenas, the US and Canada.

SSC has supported the Copernicus program since 2020. The new contracts include adding satellite ground support by adding the Punta Arenas Satellite Station to the Copernicus ground network, as well as additional Copernicus satellites to be supported by SSC ground stations in the U.S., Canada, and Sweden.

The Copernicus program has been instrumental in global climate earth observation and crisis management, such as the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, where atmospheric data and global fire monitoring helped local firefighting. The program offers open and free-of-charge access to Earth Observation data from satellites and in-situ measurement systems, aiding various international organizations in developing modern society and improving everyday life. Key areas include climate change, environment, energy supply, agriculture, forestry, healthcare, safety, security, urban planning, and more.

“Policymakers, researchers, commercial to private users, as well as the global scientific community can benefit in many ways from the data and information provided by Copernicus. Hence, we are proud of our partnership and pleased that ESA has chosen to expand our collaboration. And we prepare for it to grow even further,” says Nicholas Priborsky, President of Division Connect at SSC.

The expanded satellite ground station contracts include:

• Support for the commissioning phase of the new Sentinel-1C satellite from Inuvik Satellite Station, as well as additional passes to be covered via Esrange Space Center.
• Support for Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1C from Inuvik Ground Station until November 2026.
• Support for the commissioning phase of the new Sentinel-2C satellite to be covered via Inuvik Ground Station and Punta Arenas Satellite Station.
• Support for the Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-2C satellite routine operations from Punta Arenas Satellite Station.

This is an extension of the previous contract from 2020, including:

• S-band TT&C support for the Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, and Sentinel-5P missions from Esrange Space Center, Inuvik Ground Station, and North Pole Satellite Station Alaska.
• X-band data acquisition support for Sentinel-2 mission from Inuvik Ground Station.

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