German Space Operations Center

The German Space Operations Center (GSOC; ) is the mission control center of German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany.

Tasks The GSOC performs the following tasks in national and international spaceflight: Operation of scientific satellites Operation of commercial satellites Operation of human spaceflight Expansion and operation of the communication infrastructure Research and development of new technologies in the field of space operations

History After the Federal Republic of Germany decided in the 1960s to launch a national space program and to participate in international space projects, the idea of having its own space control center became concrete. In 1967, then Federal Minister of Finance Franz Josef Strauss laid the foundation stone for the first building complex, which was opened a little later.

Until 1985, the Oberpfaffenhofen site of the then German Aerospace Research and Testing Institute (DFVLR) increasingly concentrated on spaceflight. The human spaceflight received special attention. The GSOC then accompanied two crewed missions: During STS-61-A in 1985, GSOC took over the control of the Spacelab, while flight control continued from NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center was acquired. For the first time, the Payload Operation Control Center (POCC) of a US space mission was directed outside of NASA. For the first time, a human spaceflight was partially monitored from outside the USA or the Soviet Union. During this mission, then Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss announced on 5 November 1985 an extensive investment program with which the role of Oberpfaffenhofen in European spaceflight should be increased.

The failure of Ariane 3 in 1985 and the Challenger disaster in 1986 slowed the development of the Oberpfaffenhofen and the GSOC. The investment program gave the GSOC a new building, Building 140. Construction began in April 1989.

In 1993, GSOC accompanied the entire operation with STS-55 and had full payload control via the Spacelab. This was the first time that there was unfiltered access to all data.

Missions operated by GSOC

Crewed missions Mission Year STS-9 1983 STS-61-A (Deutschland-1) 1985 Soyuz TM-14 1992 STS-55 (Deutschland-2) 1993 STS-59 1994 Soyuz TM-22 1995 Soyuz TM-25 1997 STS-99 2000 STS-122 2008 ISS-Columbus 2008 ISS ATV-1 2008 ISS-ATV 2 2011 ISS-ATV 3 2012 ISS-ATV 4 2013 ISS-ATV 5 2014 Blue Dot “Alexander Gerst” 2014 Horizons “Alexander Gerst” 2018 Alpha „Thomas Pesquet“ 2021

Earth Observation and Science Mission Year Azur 1969 AEROS-A 1972 AEROS-B 1974 HELIOS-1 1974 HELIOS-2 1976 AMPTE 1984 Galileo 1989 ROSAT 1990 EXPRESS 1995 MARS 96 1996 Equator-S 1997 ABRIXAS 1999 CHAMP 2000 BIRD 2001 GRACE 1 + 2 2002 Rosetta / Philae 2004 SAR-Lupe 1 2006 SAR-Lupe 2 2007 SAR-Lupe 3 2007 SAR-Lupe 4 2008 SAR-Lupe 5 2008 TerraSAR-X 2007 PRISMA 2010 TanDEM-X 2010 TET-1 2012 MASCOT 2014 BIROS (FireBird) 2016 PAZ 2018 GRACE Follow-on (1+2) 2018 HP³ on Insight 2018 Eu_CROPIS 2018 EnMAP 2022

Communication and Navigation Mission Year Symphonie A 1974 Symphonie B 1975 TV-SAT 1 1987 TV-SAT 2 1989 DFS Kopernikus 1 1989 DFS Kopernikus 2 1990 DFS Kopernikus 3 1992 Eutelsat II-F1 1990 Eutelsat II-F2 1991 Eutelsat II-F3 1991 Eutelsat II-F4 1992 Eutelsat II-F5 1994 Eutelsat II-F6 / HB1 1995 Eutelsat W2 1998 Eutelsat W3 1999 Eutelsat W4 2000 Eutelsat W1R 2001 Eutelsat HB6 2002 Galileo GIOVE-B 2008 COMSATBw 1 2009 COMSATBw 2 2010 Alphasat TDP1 2013 EDRS-A 2016 Small GEO HAG-1 2017 EDRS-C 2019

See also German space programme

References

External links The German Space Operations Center