ERS
The two European Remote Sensing Satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2 of the European Space Agency (ESA) were used for remotely sensing Earth’s surface. They are no longer in operation.
GARS O’Higgins has been operated since 1991 as a satellite data receiving station. During the first years of operation it was used on a campaign basis during the Antarctic summer months. In a total of 28 campaigns, primarily in support of the ERS missions, 5000 data takes were recorded with over 99 % station availability. In 2010 the new TanDEM mission required a high number of satellite contacts year-round over the Antarctic, which led to the expansion of GARS O‘Higgins to provide continuous 24h/7d/365d operations. The graph at right shows the number of contacts with various satellites from 1991 to 2013. All contact types are included, both those involving reception of earth observation data and contacts in support of Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) and Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) satellite manoeuvres.