Sant Esteve Teleport
In recent years, efforts to equip the Montsec Observatory with satellite communication capabilities have taken a further step with the formalisation of the Sant Esteve Teleport.
The new space economy (or NewSpace) represents a disruptive leap in the use of space thanks to the deployment of small, cheaper and rapidly developing satellites (nanosatellites).
Over the past few years, significant efforts have been made to equip the Montsec Observatory (OdM) with the capability to host satellite communications stations. This project has been consolidated with the formal establishment of the Sant Esteve Teleport at the OdM.
The Sant Esteve Teleport is the area within the OdM that provides services to ground communication stations. The first of these is the Montsec Satellite Ground Station (SGSMontsec). This station, inaugurated on 12 June 2021, was conceived and installed by the NanoSat Lab at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and is managed in collaboration with the IEEC.
The privileged location of the OdM, free from obstacles on the horizon and with low radio-frequency interference, makes it an ideal site for the ground communications station.
The Sant Esteve Teleport is a facility committed to serving the region and is registered as a collaborating infrastructure of the ESA Phi-labNET Spain in Barcelona.
SGSMontsec
The Montsec Satellite Ground Station (SGSMontsec), designed and installed by the NanoSat Lab at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and managed in collaboration with the IEEC, consists of a UHF/VHF antenna and an S-band antenna.
The antennas are controlled from the Operations Centre in Barcelona, where satellite passes are planned and data is processed.
UHF/VHF bands antenna
The amateur UHF/VHF Yagi type band antenna was initially conceived by the NanoSat Lab to be installed on the roof of one of the buildings of the North Campus of the UPC of Barcelona. Due to the radioelectric noise and the impact on the visibility of the city’s buildings, in 2018 it was decided to move it to the Montsec Observatory, together with the control equipment in the Joan Oró Telescope building.
S-band antenna
In 2019, an S-band antenna with reception capacity was installed, with a 3-metre diameter disc, in order to expand the capabilities of the communications station. A dedicated room was also created in the service building of the Joan Oró Telescope, where all the electronic and control equipment for the different antennas are housed, and which consolidates the SGSMontsec infrastructure. The main missions in which the S-band antenna has participated are FSSCat, from the NanoSat Lab in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Enxaneta, the first nanosatellite of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia promoted and developed jointly by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the IEEC.
UHF Band (TX/RX)
435-438 MHz
VHF Band (TX/RX)
144-145 MHz
S-Band (RX)
2200-2290 MHz
Satellite Tracking
UHF/VHF/S-Band
VHF G/T
-16 dB
UHF G/T
-14 dB
S-Band G/T
9 dB