Astronomical Observatories in Spain
MADRID DEEP SPACE COMMUNICATIONS COMPLEX
In a valley to 60 kilometres of Madrid, in the middle of a forest near to Robledo de Chavela Oakwood it finds the MDSCC (Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex). On this station of the NASA's Deep Space Network, belonging to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, more than 150 Spanish engineers - fundamentally physicians, telecommunications and aeronautical - they support the contact with spatial missions for already more than 40 years.
With the beginning of the space race and the need to support the contact with the spatial probes permanently, the NASA's technical personnel sought to create a net of several points on the Earth from which to be able to have all missions controlled at any hour of the day without the movement of rotation of our planet was an impediment. The first one of them was Pasadena, California, where already several laboratories of the agency were. Then another center was constructed in Camberra (Australia) and the third one placed initially in South Africa, until the political regime of the apartheid forced the USA to move these facilities just before initiating the missions Apollo.
The NASA need to find a point to approximately 120 º of longitude and more or less in the vertical line of South Africa, with airport and universities in its proximities and a valley opened for the south and with mountains that protecting the north of the possible interferences.
This way the NASA came to Robledo de Chavela in 1964, when one started constructing an antenna of 26 meters of diameter, which had the first work with the mission Mariner 4 to Mars, in July, 1965. Now operate seven antennas, biggest of 70 meters of diameter.
From here they have taken part in almost all the missions Apollo - including the one that put the first man in the Moon - and also they were the only ones capable of contacting with the robot 'Spirit' when it was strolling around isolated by Mars' soil. From these facilities also the contact is kept with very ancient missions, as the Voyager, which it in the space from beginning of the 70s and it is already to the outer of the Solar System. Certainly they take part in the current missions of the NASA as the Cassini-Huygens in Saturn, Mars Globlal Surveyor and rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) in Mars among others.
Deep Space Network - NASA in Madrid (source: elmundo.es)
MDSCC
photo: NASA
70 meters Antenna
photo: NASA
34 meters Antenna
photo:photo: NASA
MDSCC
photo: NASA