The Sant Esteve Teleport starts operations with Catalonia’s first satellite ground station to host industrial activity

The Sant Esteve Teleport, located at the Montsec Observatory (OdM) and promoted by the Government in collaboration with the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), has started operations with the launching of its first satellite communications station. As a result, Catalonia now possesses, for the first time, a fully equipped infrastructure for satellite operations with the capacity to host industrial activity in the space sector. This new infrastructure is a strategic asset for the development of the Catalan space sector and strengthens the country’s capacity to compete in a growing global market.

The tender for the communications station was awarded in July 2024 to Leaf Space, an Italian company with an office in Catalonia and an international benchmark in satellite connectivity services, boasting one of the most extensive antenna networks in the world. Leaf Space has installed and operates the Teleport’s ground station and has already integrated the antenna into its global network, which services satellites in all types of orbits.

The antenna, measuring around 4 metres in diameter, is a tri-band type and incorporates:

• S-band for telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C)
• X-band for data downloading, especially imagery
• Ka-band for high-speed downloads (up to 3 times faster than X-band), in experimental mode

Under the operation agreement included in the tender, which spans 5 years extendable to 10, Leaf Space offers discounts for companies and entities within the Catalan space ecosystem wishing to access its services.

Within the framework of the Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy and through the call coordinated by the IEEC, three new infrastructures will be installed at the OdM next year. These will strengthen the Teleport’s capabilities and expand its potential as a hub for innovation and industrial development in the space sector, as well as a benchmark facility for advanced communication and navigation technologies.

The three industrial projects selected in the call, which are already under development, are those submitted by the following companies:

The winning companies will manage and operate their infrastructures for 5 years, extendable to 10.

The launch of the Sant Esteve Teleport, alongside the entry into service of the Leaf Space communications station and the deployment of the new infrastructures, reinforces the Government’s strategy to promote an innovative, competitive space sector with industrial capability.

The Leaf Space communications station has joined Catalonia Space Labs, the catalogue of infrastructures that the Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy makes available to the Catalan space ecosystem to develop, test, and scale their solutions.

To make it easier for private Catalan entities and companies within the space ecosystem to use the infrastructures that form part of Catalonia Space Labs at a reduced cost, the Government of Catalonia, through the Secretariat for Digital Policies, grants ‘Catalonia Space Labs Vouchers’.

The call for applications, coordinated by the IEEC, closed its second submission period on 8 June, but plans to open two further submission windows later this year, subject to the outcome of previous calls and available funding.