SN User's Guide - ESC Home - NASA

c. RF Simulation Operations Center (RFSOC). The RFSOC, located at GSFC,
provides facilities for conducting customer flight project mission simulations for
SN customers. It can monitor SN performance during these mission
simulations, simulate a mission-unique customer platform, verify SN/customer
MOC interfaces, and simulate a customer MOC for fault isolation.
d. Compatibility Test Lab (CTL). Home-based at GSFC, CTL provides the means
to test customer platforms at remote locations for RF compatibility with the SN,
which may include an end-to-end test after compatibility testing is completed.
The CTL can provide portable equipment representing the SN with cabled RF
interfaces to a customer platform for local RF compatibility testing. The CTL
also can provide a Compatibility Test Van (CTV) with a rooftop antenna or a
portable tripod antenna system for TDRSS relay performance tests. Similarly,
the GSFC-based CTL can provide RF interfaces to a customer platform for local
RF testing and a rooftop antenna for SN performance tests. In this case, the
customer brings the platform RF components to the GSFC CTL and these
components are set up in an RF-shielded screen room for testing.
e. Near Earth Network (NEN). The NEN consists of NASA ground stations in
McMurdo, Antarctica; Wallops Island, Virginia; Svalbard, Norway; the Alaska
Satellite Facility (ASF) in Fairbanks; and White Sands, New Mexico. Under
contract are commercial operators at Santiago, Chile; Poker Flat, Alaska; South
Point, Hawaii; North Pole, Alaska; Dongara, Australia; Hartebeesthoek, South
Africa; and Kongsberg Satellite Services at Svalbard, Norway. These stations
provide orbital communications services for Near-Earth orbiting customer
platforms. The NEN and SN combined were previously referred to as the
Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN).
f. Deep Space Network (DSN). Managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, CA, the DSN is comprised of ground tracking stations at Canberra,
Australia; Goldstone, California; and Madrid, Spain. The DSN stations are used
to support a standard mission set and provide emergency services in the event
of customer contingency or degraded SN and/or NEN support.
g. McMurdo TDRSS Relay System 2 (MTRS2). The MTRS2 consists of two relay
ground systems that are within the National Science Foundation’s (NSF)
McMurdo facilities in the Antarctic. MTRS2 has the capability to relay up to 300
Mbps to WSC via an assigned TDRS. MTRS2 Upgrade (MTRS2U) is in
process to bring the equipment and system into an operational state in
preparation for services to the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) decadal
survey mission. For further information on the MTRS2, please refer to
Appendix L.
Revision 10 2-14 450-SNUG