"For any space mission, the ground segment is vital for operating a spacecraft and processing data received from its instrument. Planck is no different, with hardware, software, telecommunication and other operations reaching from Spain to Australia" said Damien Texier, Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration , at ESAC, Spain.**
The first acquisition and tracking of signals from the Herschel and Planck satellites after launch, was achieved at New Norcia ground station using a new antenna control technique called Conscan. A problem for finding a satellite in its first orbit after launch is that its trajectory is not known precisely. The Conscan tracking technique allows to correct for uncertainties in trajectory by making the ground station antenna beam make small circles around the expected satellite path. The tracked signal level is processed by "curvefit" software and the results obtained can be used to find the exact satellite trajectory. The Conscan routine has been integrated as a functional module into the Front End Controllers (FEC) at two ESA ground stations (New Norcia and Masplaomas). Callisto engineering staff at ESOC provide support for the development and testing of the FEC and have also participated in the design of the curvefit process and the implementation of the Conscan module.
*Launch and Early Orbit Phase **ESA Bulletin 139.