Southland is fortuitously located on the launch trajectory of Europe’s Spaceport launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana to the International Space Station (ISS). For the Ariane 5 ATV launch series, manoeuvres take place when the launch vehicle passes over Southland that need to be observed. A tracking station has been established at Awarua to undertake these observations.The Awarua rocket tracking station, situated just south of Invercargill, played a critical role in the first launch of the European Space Agency's automated transfer vehicle (ATV) Jules Verne.
To track the ATV, which delivered seven tonnes of equipment, water, air and food to astronauts in the International Space Station, and deliver the data transmitted from it to mission control, the ESA asked the French Space Agency CNES and Venture Southland to establish and operate a tracking station at Awarua.
The launch of the Ariane 5 rocket was the first of a series of planned launches that will be tracked at the Awarua site over then next 10 years.
Links
Science Learning Article
European Space Agency
Automated Transfer Vehicle
