title: List of earth stations in Australia
text: # List of earth stations in Australia
  
  A number of historic and current Earth (or ground) stations in Australia are used to communicate and track human-made satellites.
  
  Many of the sites are associated with overseas government partnerships established generally with the United States, European Union, and Japan. They are generally run by various Australian Government agencies along with NASA, European Space Agency or the US Military.
  
  ## List of sites
  
  | No. | Station | Complex | Location | Overseas country/company involved | Purpose | Active |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Island Lagoon Tracking Station | Island Lagoon Tracking Station | Woomera, SA | United States | Minitrack Radio Tracking Station Baker-Nunn Camera Optical Tracking Station. Project Mercury Radio Tracking Stations Deep Space Probe Radio Tracking Station (85 foot diameter antenna) | No |
  | 2 | Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar | Island Lagoon Tracking Station | Arcoona, SA | United States | Space based surveillance. Moved to Pine Gap | No |
  | 3 | Muchea Tracking Station | Muchea Tracking Station | Muchea, WA | United States | Project Mercury (replaced by Carnarvon) | No |
  | 4 | (Unknown) Adelaide Earth Station | (Unknown) Adelaide Earth Station | Adelaide, SA | United States | Unknown transit Navigational Satellite Program for weather facilities - required an Earth station near Adelaide. | Unknown |
  | 5 | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex | Tidbinbilla, ACT | United States | NASA Deep Space Network | Yes |
  | 6 | Carnarvon Tracking Station | Carnarvon Earth Stations | Carnarvon, WA | United States | Tracking and Data Acquisition Station for uncrewed scientific and crewed satellites | No |
  | 7 | OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon | Carnarvon Earth Stations | Carnarvon, WA | Europe | European Space Agency - Space vehicle tracking | Yes |
  | 8 | (Unknown) Darwin Earth station | (Unknown) Darwin Earth station | Darwin, NT | United States | Unknown Mobile Data Acquisition Station for uncrewed scientific satellites and space vehicles. Possibly Shoal Bay Receiving Station | Unknown |
  | 9 | Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station | Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station | Honeysuckle Creek, ACT | United States | Tracking and Data Acquisition Station, primarily for support of crewed flight | No |
  | 10 | Cooby Creek Tracking Station | Cooby Creek Tracking Station | South of Toowoomba, QLD | United States | Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) facility | No |
  | 11 | Parkes CSIRO Earth Station | Parkes CSIRO Earth Station | Parkes, NSW | CSIRO | CSIRO, NASA Deep Space Network. | Yes |
  | 12 | Orroral Valley Tracking Station | Orroral Valley Tracking Station | Orroral Valley, ACT | United States France | Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network, DORIS (geodesy) | No |
  | 13 | Yatharagga | Yatharagga West Australian Space Centre | Near Yarragadee, WA | United States France | NASA Mobile Laser Ranging Facility and DORIS (geodesy) beacon - now operated by the Swedish Space Corporation | Yes |
  | 14 | Pine Gap | Pine Gap | Near Alice Springs, NT | United States | Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, ECHELON, Aquacade tracking | Yes |
  | 15 | Crib Point Satellite Earth Station at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base | Crib Point Satellite Earth Station at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base | Near Crib Point, VIC | Japan | Meteorological Satellite Earth Station for Japanese and Chinese weather satellites e.g. Himawari Geostationary Meteorological Satellites. | Yes |
  | 16 | New Norcia Station | New Norcia Station | New Norcia, WA | Europe | ESTRACK for the European Space Agency | Yes |
  | 17 | Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station | Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station | Geraldton, WA | United States | ECHELON | Yes |
  | 18 | Dongara Satellite Station | Yatharagga West Australian Space Centre | Near Yarragadee, WA | United States | Earth station Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Facility - now operated by the Swedish Space Corporation | Yes |
  | 19 | Perth Station | Perth International Telecommunications Centre | Gnangara (Perth), WA | Europe | ESTRACK for the European Space Agency operated by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (Australia) and Parkes Radiotelescope of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research | Yes |
  | 20 | Regency Park Optus Earth Station | Regency Park Optus Earth Station | Regency Park, SA | Optus - SingTel, Intelsat | Intelsat Earth station with 1 tracking and 2 fixed antennae and serves as a Tracking, Telemetry & Control backup site. | Yes |
  | 21 | Belrose Optus Earth Station | Belrose Optus Earth Station | Belrose, NSW | Optus - SingTel | Belrose is the key operations centre for Optus telecommunications satellite services and controls the Optus satellite fleet. Belrose Satellite Operations comprises teams for satellite control, satellite support, satellite network management, VSAT operations and Earth station support. Belrose also provides launch support and consulting services for non-Optus satellites, whose global operations encompass Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. The site hosts a total of 44 antennae, 8 tracking and 36 fixed. It has 61 high power amplifiers for transmission. | Yes |
  | 22 | Lockridge Optus Earth Station | Lockridge Optus Earth Station | Lockridge, WA | Optus - SingTel | The Lockridge Earth Station supports international and domestic satellite services. It is continuously staffed as a key Tracking, Telemetry & Control facility. It hosts 12 tracking and 10 fixed antennae. | Yes |
  | 23 | Oxford Falls Optus Earth Station | Oxford Falls Optus Earth Station | Oxford Falls, NSW | Optus - SingTel, Intelsat | The Oxford Falls Earth Station is Optus' international gateway for voice, data and video services from international news gatherers as well as providing international communications for key Australian government departments and pay TV providers. The 8 antennas (4 tracking) at Oxford Falls are pointed to 2 Intelsat satellites, as well as New Skies and Asiasat satellites. | Yes |
  | 24 | Tasmanian Earth Resources Satellite Station | Tasmanian Earth Resources Satellite Station | Hobart, TAS | Various | The Tasmanian Earth Resources Satellite Station (TERSS) is an X-band groundstation designed and built in Australia. TERSS was created by a group of partners including: CSIRO Division of Oceanography, CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications, The University of Tasmania, The Australian Space Office, The Bureau of Meteorology, The Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES), The Australian Antarctic Division | Yes |
  | 25 | Uralla Lockheed Martin Earth Station | Uralla Lockheed Martin Earth Station | Uralla, NSW | Lockheed Martin | Lockheed Martin Australia owns and operates this Earth station to provide telemetry, tracking and command services for a wide range of customers. | Yes |
  | 26 | Mawson Lakes NewSat Earth Station | Mawson Lakes NewSat Earth Station | Mawson Lakes (Adelaide), SA | NewSat | 12 antennas from 2.4 to 13 m in diameter, with C and Ku - band capabilities to 12 geosynchronous satellites. | Yes |
  | 27 | Bassendean NewSat Earth Station | Bassendean NewSat Earth Station | Bassendean (Perth), WA | NewSat | 11 antennas from 2.4 to 13 m in diameter, with C and Ku - band capabilities to 9 geosynchronous satellites. | Yes |
  | 28 | Sydney BoM Earth Station | Sydney BoM Earth Station | Sydney, NSW | BoM | One or more satellite antennas that receive data either in L-band or X-band. The signals are processed by on-site computers and the ingested satellite data is distributed around Australia and internationally. | Yes |
  | 29 | Melbourne BoM Earth Station | Melbourne BoM Earth Station | Melbourne, VIC | BoM | One or more satellite antennas that receive data either in L-band or X-band. The signals are processed by on-site computers and the ingested satellite data is distributed around Australia and internationally. | Yes |
  | 30 | Perth WASTAC Earth Station | Perth WASTAC Earth Station | Murdoch (Perth), WA | WASTAC | There is one receiver: an L and X-band receiver at Murdoch University, Murdoch. A microwave link exists between the various WASTAC members: Bureau of Meteorology, Landgate's - Satellite Remote Sensing Services, Curtin University of Technology's - Remote Sensing and Satellite Research Group, CSIRO Space Sciences and Technology, Murdoch University, Geoscience Australia | Yes |
  | 31 | Shoal Bay Receiving Station | Shoal Bay Receiving Station | Shoal Bay (Darwin), NT | ASD | 17 antennas. Possibly ECHELON | Yes |
  | 32 | Darwin Weather Data Earth Station | Shoal Bay Receiving Station | Shoal Bay (Darwin), NT | BoM | One or more satellite antennas that receive data either in L-band or X-band. The signals are processed by on-site computers and the ingested satellite data is distributed around Australia and internationally. | Yes |
  | 33 | Casey Station | Casey Station | Casey Station (Antarctica), AAD | BoM, AAD | ANARESAT satellite communications antenna A Himawari-8 satellite tracking antenna | Yes |
  | 34 | Davis Station | Davis Station | Davis Station (Antarctica), AAD | BoM, AAD | ANARESAT satellite communications antenna A Himawari-8 satellite tracking antenna | Yes |
  | 35 | Mawson Station | Mawson Station | Mawson Station (Antarctica), AAD | AAD | ANARESAT satellite communications antenna | Yes |
  | 36 | Macquarie Island Station | Macquarie Island Station | Macquarie Island Station (Antarctica), AAD | AAD | ANARESAT satellite communications antenna | Yes |
  | 37 | Parkes CSIRO Earth Station | Parkes CSIRO Earth Station | Parkes, NSW | CSIRO | CSIRO, NASA Deep Space Network. | Yes |
  | 38 | Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station | Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station | Kojarena, near Geraldton WA | United States | signals intelligence facility. | Yes |
  | 39 | Mount Stromlo Observatory | Mount Stromlo Observatory | Mount Stromlo, ACT | France | DORIS (geodesy) beacon moved from Orroral Valley. | Yes |
  | 40 | BLUEsat UNSW/ACSER Groundstation, UNSW, Kensington | UNSW | Kensington, NSW | BLUEsat UNSW | Microsatellite Groundstation | Yes |
  | 41 | Oxford Falls Telstra Earth Station (Sydney Earth Station) | Oxford Falls Telstra International Telecommunication Centre | Oxford Falls, NSW | Telstra International - Telstra, | The Oxford Falls Earth Station (Sydney Earth Station) is a Telstra International gateway for voice, data and video services. It provides diverse international and domestic services to private enterprise and Australian government departments, remote sites, mobility providers and pay TV providers. This site has 22 antennas which are pointed to a variety of satellite positions in the Asia-Pacific Region. | Yes |
  | 42 | Gnangara Telstra Earth Station (Perth Earth Station) | Perth Telstra International Telecommunication Centre | Landsdale, Western Australia | Telstra International - Telstra, | The Gnangara Earth Station (Perth Earth Station) is a Telstra International gateway for voice, data and video services. It provides diverse international and domestic services to private enterprise and Australian government departments, remote sites, mobility providers and pay TV providers. This site has 20 antennas which are pointed to a variety of satellite positions in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions. | Yes |
  | 43 | HMAS Harman | Defence Communications Station (DEFCOMMSTA) Canberra | Harman, ACT | Royal Australian Navy | Defence communications (35°21′02″S 149°11′58″E﻿ / ﻿35.3505°S 149.1994°E﻿ / -35.3505; 149.1994) | Yes |
  | 44 | Optus | | Hume, ACT | Optus | 35°23′43″S 149°09′58″E﻿ / ﻿35.3953°S 149.1662°E﻿ / -35.3953; 149.1662 | Yes |
  | 45 | Telstra - Bendigo | Telstra | Bendigo, Vic | Telstra | 1 Sidney Myer Pl, Bendigo VIC 3550 | Yes |
  | 46 | Telstra - Hawthorn | Telstra | Hawthorn, Vic | Telstra | -37.82221719521082, 145.03660961011317 | Yes |
  
  ## Treaties
  
  A number of treaties and other instruments associated with the stations:
  
  | Date | Country | Details | Station |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 7 June 1957 | United States | United States Naval Research Laboratory and the Department of Supply of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia to establish the Minitrack Radio Tracking Station at Woomera. | Island Lagoon Tracking Station |
  | 12 September 1957 | United States | Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution and the Department of Supply of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia to establish Baker-Nunn Camera Optical Tracking Station at Woomera. | Island Lagoon Tracking Station |
  | 26 February 1960 | United States | The first formalised agreement between the US and Australia on Space Vehicle and Communication establishing the early tracking stations of 1957 as well as new stations at Woomera and Perth for Project Mercury, as well as a Deep Space Probe Radio Tracking Station (85 foot diameter antenna) at Woomera. | Island Lagoon Tracking Station, Muchea Tracking Station |
  | 5 June 1961 | United States | Transit Navigational Satellite Program for weather facilities - required an Earth station near Adelaide. | Unknown |
  | 11 February 1963 | United States | Extending the 1960 agreement to cover Carnarvon, Darwin and what would become Tidbinbilla/Orroral Valley Tracking Station for NASA Deep Space Radio Tracking. | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Orroral Valley Tracking Station Carnarvon Tracking Station, Darwin Earth Station |
  | 22 October 1963 | United States | Further formalisation of Tibinbilla and Orroral Valley Tracking Station for a Deep Space Radio Tracking Facility and a Wide Band Command and Data Acquisition Facility. | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Carnarvon Tracking Station, Orroral Valley Tracking Station |
  | 10 February 1965 | United States | Addition of a "Tracking and Data Acquisition Station, primarily for support of crewed flight, to be located near Canberra" (Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station). | Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station |
  | 7 December 1965 | United States | Addition of an "Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) facility at Cooby Creek, Darling Downs near Toowoomba." (Cooby Creek Tracking Station) | Cooby Creek Tracking Station |
  | 26 February 1970 | United States | Confirming the present sites, and adding that a 210-foot-diameter antenna shall be established at the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Station | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex |
  | 7 July 1977 | Japan | Turn Around Ranging Station (unspecified) supporting the first Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS or Himarwari 1) | Unspecified |
  | 27 June 1978 | United States | Adding Yatharagga to US agreement. | Yatharagga |
  | 15 June 1979 | Europe | Agreement between the Government of Australia and the European Space Agency for a Co-operative Space Vehicle Tracking Program | OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon, Perth International Telecommunications Centre |
  | 26 May 1980 | United States | Confirming the list of active sites. | no new sites |
  | 22 September 1981 | Japan | Turn Around Ranging Station (unspecified) supporting Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-2 (GMS or Himarwari 2) | Unspecified - possibly Crib Point Satellite Earth Station |
  | 1 May 1985 | Japan | Turn Around Ranging Station (unspecified) supporting Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-3 (GMS or Himarwari 3) | Unspecified - possibly Crib Point Satellite Earth Station |
  | 21 January 1987 | Europe | Further to the agreement of 1979 identification of sites as Carnarvon (OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon) and Gnangara (Perth) (Perth International Telecommunications Centre) operated by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (Australia) and Parkes Radiotelescope of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. | OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon, Perth International Telecommunications Centre |
  | 16 November 1988 | United States | Extending Pine Gap | Pine Gap |
  | 2 May 1990 | United States | Update of active stations to: Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Yarragadee, and Alice Springs (Pine Gap) | Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Yatharagga, Pine Gap |
  | 8 August 1990 | Japan | Agreement to support the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-4 (GMS or Himarwari 4) through a Turn Around Ranging Station (at Crib Point Satellite Earth Station) | Crib Point Satellite Earth Station |
  | 18 October 1994 | France | DORIS Beacon agreements | Yatharagga, Orroral Valley Tracking Station, Mount Stromlo Observatory |
  | 20 October 1997 | Japan | Agreement to support the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-5 (GMS or Himarwari 5) through a Turn Around Ranging Station (at Crib Point Satellite Earth Station) | Crib Point Satellite Earth Station |
  | 4 June 1998 | United States | Extension of Pine Gap arrangement | Pine Gap |
  | 4 August 2000 | United States | Removal of Yarragadee from the agreement. | Yatharagga |
  | 16 February 2007 | United States | Agreement with the US on what would become project ECHELON at the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station | Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station |
  | 23 August 2007 | Europe | General agreement | Unspecified |
  | 25 February 2010 | United States | Addition of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Facility at Dongara. | Dongara Satellite Station |
  | 11 January 2012 | United States | Extension of 2010 agreement to 2014. | N/A |
  | 27 March 2014 | United States | Extension of 2012 agreement to 2018. | N/A |
  