TRANSCRIPT
The European Space Agency is about to switch on one of its most ambitious pieces of infrastructure outside Europe, a new deep space antenna.
On the 4th of October, ESA, working with Australia’s CSIRO, will inaugurate a 35-metre-wide dish at New Norcia, about 130 kilometres north of Perth.
Known as New Norcia 3, or DSA4, the antenna is set to transform Europe’s ability to communicate with spacecraft travelling across the solar system.
This massive structure has been under construction since mid-2022.
At 40 metres tall and weighing 700 tonnes, it will be a vital link in the global communications network run by the European Space Agency called Estrack.
Without these antennas, Europe’s space missions, from Earth-orbiting satellites to probes orbiting Mercury or Jupiter, would be flying blind.
Steven Mew is with the Australian Science Media Centre.
He explains the significance of the project.
"The construction of the antenna was supported by $4 million invested by the Australian government through the Australian Space Agency and will expand the deep space communication capabilities of the European Space Agency. This will aid in communication with a wide variety of space missions, including the vigil mission to monitor our sun for potentially hazardous solar activity."
Australia has been a trusted partner in deep space communications for decades.
The Australian Space Agency has co-funded the project, investing $4 million, while local industry has upgraded roads, power and data links at the site.
Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, which already operates ESA’s other antennas in the region, will take on responsibility for running New Norcia 3 as well.
Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, sees it as a symbol of growing collaboration.
"We'll be welcoming the whole world to, in many ways, to Sydney, including European colleagues. And we'll cap that week off with a special inauguration of this new antenna called N-N-O-3 at the new NSEA site in Western Australia. And this is a project we think is a very good example of how we can bring together international partnerships investment and to continue forward a shared vision for space exploration. So Australia is well known as a trusted experienced and capable operator in deep space communications."
So, what exactly will this antenna do?
Its range extends to about 750 million kilometres, far enough to stay in touch with spacecraft like ESA's Juice mission, now exploring Jupiter’s moons.
With 20 kilowatts of transmission output power and lightning-fast processing speeds of more than one degree per second, it’s designed for enormous data flows.
Advanced cooling systems, ultra-precise timing, artificial intelligence, and state-of-the-art radio technology will all keep signals flowing smoothly across the void.
When it comes online in 2026, New Norcia 3 will support ESA’s flagship missions: BepiColombo on its way to Mercury, Solar Orbiter studying the Sun, Mars Express, Euclid mapping the dark universe; and Hera, humanity’s planetary defence mission.
It will also link to upcoming missions such as Vigil, which aims to gather data to provide advance warning of oncoming solar storms.
Giuseppe Manolo, ESA's Vigil project manager, explained why that particular mission matters to Australia.
"Now what Vigil is looking for is what we call extreme solar events. So these is a super powerful explosions of energy and particles from the sun that are strong enough to disrupt Earth's technology systems and possibly impact global infrastructure."
The antenna’s location in Western Australia is strategic.
Alongside ESA's stations in Argentina and Spain, it ensures global coverage, so spacecraft can stay in contact around the clock.
The site is also ideally placed beneath the flight paths of rockets launched from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, a smaller antenna there already tracks rockets as they pass overhead.
But perhaps the bigger story is what this project represents.
Europe and Australia are investing together in the infrastructure needed for long-term exploration of the solar system.
Behind the steel and electronics are major European firms - including Thales Alenia Space in France and Schwartz Hautmont in Spain - but also the Australian scientists, engineers and operators who will run the station day to day.
Susie Jackson, CSIRO’s station manager at New Norcia, says there are great opportunities for those who wish to join the team.
"With all the wonderful expansion at New Norcia, we're in the process of nearly doubling our staff. So the site's gone from a fairly modest one to quite significant and it's given us this great opportunity to bring on the next generation of new people and infect them with a passion for space and a passion for science, and hopefully get them going on long rewarding careers in science."
So, on the 4th of October, when that gleaming 35-metre dish is officially inaugurated, it won’t just mark the completion of a giant piece of engineering.
It will stand as a symbol of partnership, a European-Australian gateway to the stars.
