New Norcia Station is a 35-metre ESTRACK radio antenna for communication with spacecraft in deep space. It is located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the town of New Norcia, Western Australia. It was built for the European Space Agency. The station was officially opened on 5 March 2003 by the Premier of Western Australia at the time, Dr Geoff Gallop. The New Norcia antenna has an almost identical sister station, Cebreros Station, near Madrid, Spain. A third similar station, Malargüe Station, is under construction in Argentina, and will provide 360 degree coverage for deep space missions when completed.
Famous quotes containing the word station:
“Say first, of God above, or Man below,
What can we reason, but from what we know?
Of Man what see we, but his station here,
From which to reason, or to which refer?
Thro’ worlds unnumber’d tho’ the God be known,
‘Tis ours to trace him only in our own.
”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)