![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/telsa-goonhilly-61ffc84.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C438"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Even so, only around half an hour of transmission time was possible before it disappeared from the skies, and that meant the giant GHY-1 antenna had to follow Telstar precisely, even when it was moving at around three times the apparent diameter of the full Moon<\/a> every second.<\/p>\n Just one day after launch, Telstar was on its 15th orbit of Earth, when it beamed pictures from the US down to GHY-1.<\/p>\n On its next orbit, Goonhilly transmitted a live television broadcast from its control room, featuring BBC commentator Raymond Baxter and Captain CF Booth, deputy engineer-in-chief of the GPO.<\/p>\n During the following days and weeks, increasingly complex signals were traded between Telstar and Goonhilly, including the first fax transmission of a picture and the first colour television images. But it was something even more historic that captured Goonhilly\u2019s current CEO Ian Jones\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969 and GHY-1 helped receive the television pictures of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing a child of the 60s, space and Apollo were exciting, inspirational things, and I can\u2019t remember not knowing the name Goonhilly. It\u2019s a key part of the UK\u2019s history,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Throughout its ownership by the GPO, which later became British Telecom (BT), the station developed into a hub for global telecommunications, adding more antennas along the way.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n The largest of these is the 32-metre Goonhilly 6 (GHY-6) dish, also known as Merlin. Completed in 1985, its first job was to relay the famous Live Aid concert to 100 countries across the world.<\/p>\n It even earned a Blue Peter<\/em> badge that same year, although, sadly, the weather has taken its toll on the badge\u2019s plaque.<\/p>\n But in the decades that followed, the world changed. The cost of owning and operating satellites began to fall, and companies like Sky TV were pioneering satellite-to-home transmission, with consumers needing just a small dish on their homes to receive the signals from space.<\/p>\n As a result, a huge satellite station like Goonhilly began to look like an expensive relic from a bygone age. BT closed the station in 2008, and a few years later scheduled it for demolition.<\/p>\n Goonhilly is pioneering a Space Artificial Intelligence Institute. Satellites are now capable of producing so much data that just sorting through it, let alone analysing it in a reasonable time, is stretching human capacity to the limit.<\/p>\n To remain close to the concept of real-time data, analysis will require machine learning and artificial intelligence<\/a> \u2013 computers capable of interpreting those signals collected by satellites and space missions in real time, just like our brain does with the things we sense.<\/p>\n Goonhilly space scientist Olivia Smedley has been investigating the use of AI techniques on satellite data, to map trees across Cornwall.<\/p>\n She sees a strong crossover with the traditional work of the Earth Station. \u201cThere are a lot of parallels between the mathematics used for digital signal processing, and the kind needed for how AI works. So it\u2019s an interesting avenue to be exploring,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> That was the catalyst for Jones. He realised that, just as Goonhilly had been used to pioneer satellite-based broadcasting, there could be a new role for it pioneering commercial deep-space communications.<\/p>\n In 2014, he assembled a team to explore that possibility, set up a company called Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd (GES), negotiated with BT to take over the site and lease the antennas, and turned Goonhilly into the world\u2019s first privately owned deep-space communications network.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunications is one of those things that quite often gets forgotten,\u201d says Jones, pointing out that as more spacecraft are being built, and as more spacecraft are surviving for longer in space, there\u2019s often a logjam of missions wanting to communicate with Earth.<\/p>\n This results in the traditional deep-space networks built by NASA and ESA being heavily over-subscribed. Add to that the private companies entering the launch market and the need for more ground stations becomes obvious.<\/p>\n GES worked with ESA and NASA to convert GHY-6 into a deep-space antenna capable of receiving data from their spacecraft and transmitting commands to them. Now, GHY-6 routinely communicates with the ESA missions Gaia, Integral, Cluster and Mars Express.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been super exciting to actually be downlinking signals from Mars Express,\u201d says Goonhilly space scientist Olivia Smedley, who was part of the team that worked to upgrade the antenna.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing images of Mars<\/a> that have come through the dish here at Goonhilly is cool.\u201d<\/p>\n In the summer of 2022, NASA asked GES for its help in tracking Artemis 1. This mission is the first uncrewed test of the Orion space capsule that will be used to help return astronauts to the Moon.<\/p>\n Smedley and colleagues started well before dawn on Orion\u2019s launch day to set up GHY6 with the correct frequencies and data rates to be ready for whenever the Americans pressed \u2018go\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very exciting to see the signals from Orion only a few hours after it launched,\u201d she says. One of the jobs for GES was to establish contact with 6 of the 10 small CubeSat satellites that were hitching a ride on Artemis<\/a> 1.<\/p>\n Matt Cosby, director of space engineering at Goonhilly, says the station is probably in touch with between 10 and 20 spacecraft every day.<\/p>\n Not all of these are deep-space missions, many are communications satellites around Earth that don\u2019t need the big 30-metre dishes. So, GES has a number of smaller five-metre dishes, many of them clustered together in an area of the site referred to as \u2018the antenna farm\u2019.<\/p>\n In total, there are around 40 antennas on the 160-acre site.<\/p>\n The Goonhilly Earth Station covers a 160-acre site and features around 40 antennas. Most are smaller, five-metre-class dishes. Not all of Goonhilly\u2019s large antennas have survived over the years, but three still exist. Of these, the original Goonhilly 1 (GHY-1) is now largely retired.<\/p>\n GHY-6 is a dedicated deep-space communications antenna, capable of sending and receiving information to and from distant spacecraft. Meanwhile, GHY-3 is a radio telescope that can also be used for detecting radar signals reflected back off pieces of space junk.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Beyond deep-space communications, there are a number of other uses for the big dishes.<\/p>\n For example, Goonhilly 3 (GHY-3) has been equipped with a cryogenic unit that cools the receiver to -265\u00b0C, just 8\u00b0C above absolute zero.<\/p>\n This makes it highly sensitive to weak signals, so it can be used for radio astronomy, searching out celestial objects such as galaxies containing active supermassive black holes in their cores, or the remnants of exploded stars.<\/p>\n Sitting a radio telescope next to a deep-space communications dish went against the orthodoxy.<\/p>\n \u201cAstronomers use radio telescopes to listen and they\u2019re listening intently. The comms people are just shouting at spacecraft, so it was assumed that you couldn\u2019t have them working together.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there are a lot of techniques in radio astronomy that can be used for deep-space communication, so learning from each other is quite useful,\u201d says Cosby.<\/p>\n Having such a sensitive receiver also means that they can listen for faint radar reflections too. This means that GHY-3 can be used to track space debris by detecting radar signals bouncing off the junk up there<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, GES also began collaborating with companies Inmarsat and GMV Innovative Solutions to develop a satellite signal that could be beamed to GPS<\/a> users to improve the system\u2019s accuracy.<\/p>\n Known as the UK Space-Based Augmentation System (UKSBAS), it would boost the GPS signal\u2019s precision from several metres down to just a few centimetres.<\/p>\n Satellite and deep-space communications are only set to increase in importance in the UK.<\/p>\n In 2023, Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Orbit company will perform the first satellite launch from British soil.<\/p>\n A converted Boeing 747 plane will take off from Newquay\u2019s Spaceport Cornwall runway, carrying a rocket strapped to one of its wings. Once at an altitude of 10,668m (35,000ft), the aircraft will release the rocket, which will boost into orbit and deploy its satellites.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been involved in the Spaceport Cornwall project since its inception,\u201d says Cosby.\u201cAnd we\u2019re going to be tracking the rocket as it goes off.\u201d<\/p>\n GES will then operate one of the satellites. The satellite, known as Amber-1, will be used to gather marine intelligence to help police activities such as piracy, illegal fishing and trafficking.<\/p>\n And the future holds even more excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, after a 50-year hiatus, there is renewed interest in going to the Moon,\u201d says Jones.<\/p>\n He envisions expanding Goonhilly by building more facilities and becoming the communications provider for many of the missions that will go to the Moon.<\/p>\n For Jones, who took his childhood inspiration from the Apollo images beamed back through Goonhilly, it will be like coming full circle. And, it seems that there\u2019s a lot more space history for the Earth station to make.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Satellites can now be as small as a shoe box. Ten of these mini-satellites, known as CubeSats<\/a>, were launched on the Artemis 1 mission in late 2022. Goonhilly is tracking these six:<\/span><\/p>\n The Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEAScout) CubeSat has been developed by NASA. It will unfurl an 86m2 <\/sup>solar sail that will use the pressure of sunlight to propel the satellite to a small asteroid and reconnoitre its surface. Unfortunately, NEAScout did not make contact following its deployment. Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/p>\n Designed by NASA Ames Research Centre to spend 18 months studying the way radiation in space damages the DNA<\/a> of living yeast cells. Photo by NASA\/Daniel Rutter<\/span><\/p>\n Designed by Arizona State University to investigate the lunar south pole for hydrogen deposits associated with water. Photo by NASA<\/span><\/p>\n This was designed by the Italian Space Agency to autonomously record images of the rocket stage that propels Orion to the Moon and the deployment of the other CubeSats. Photo by NASA<\/span><\/p>\n The CubeSat for Solar Particles (CuSP) was designed by the SouthWest Research Institute, Texas, to study the radiation emanating from the Sun, known as space weather, which can affect electronics and living organisms. Photo by NASA<\/span><\/p>\n Designed by NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Busek Company and others to prospect the Moon for resources needed to build a lunar base. Photo by Recentcontributor2000\/Wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n In November 2022, Goonhilly made history as it tracked NASA\u2019s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. But that\u2019s not the end of the story. The little-known station, nestled in the toe-tip of England, is poised to become the UK\u2019s window to the next era of space exploration. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25113,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"11"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon.jpg",1200,500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon-300x125.jpg",300,125,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon-768x320.jpg",768,320,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon-1024x427.jpg",800,334,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon.jpg",1200,500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/inside-the-uks-resurrected-deep-space-hub-helping-astronauts-return-to-the-moon.jpg",1200,500,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In November 2022, Goonhilly made history as it tracked NASA\u2019s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. But that\u2019s not the end of the story. The little-known station, nestled in the toe-tip of England, is poised to become the UK\u2019s window to the next era of space exploration.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Making history<\/strong><\/h2>\n
AI in space <\/strong><\/h3>\n
A new lease of life<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Goonhilly: what\u2019s there?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Multipurpose dishes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/orion-9ce7ab1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C465"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More history to make<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The mini-satellites tracked by Goonhilly<\/strong><\/h2>\n
NEAScout<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/neascout-2fd3f82.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C421"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nBioSentinel<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/biosentinel-d1b0d60.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C349"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nLunaH-map<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/luna-map-62d416e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C485"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nArgoMoon<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/argomoon-be0ef06.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C261"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nCuSP<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/cusp-6540b30.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C442"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nLunar IceCube<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/ice-cube-c24713d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C479"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"