SvalSat-satel­li­te sta­ti­on near Lon­gye­ar­by­en

SvalSat, based on Pla­tå­ber­get near Lon­gye­ar­by­en, was instal­led in 1996/97 as a base sta­ti­on to recei­ve data from satel­li­tes in polar orbits. The com­bi­na­ti­on of good infra­struc­tu­re of near-by Lon­gye­ar­by­en and the posi­ti­on clo­se to the pole make SvalSat uni­que and an important link in the chain of glo­bal satel­li­te sys­tems. Curr­ent­ly, the­re are 16 minor and lar­ger anten­nas stan­ding on Pla­tå­ber­get, but the num­ber is to be enlar­ged soon. Major demand is expec­ted when the Euro­pean satel­li­te-based navi­ga­ti­on sys­tem “Gali­leo” will be estab­lished in a few years, pro­vi­ding an alter­na­ti­ve to the US mili­ta­ry-con­trol­led GPS.

The Nor­we­gi­an Ant­ar­c­tic sta­ti­on Troll will ser­ve a simi­lar pur­po­se in the sou­thern hemi­sphe­re. 

Source: Sval­bard­pos­ten No 2, 2009

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