Tenerife Plays Its Part In Another Space First

The European Space Agency announced another SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology) achievement: the successful testing of a laser communication link experiment with its optical ground station in Tenerife, Canary Islands in February.

This laser technology, in which Europe is a leader, has already been applied to telecommunications satellites, but this was the first time a laser link had been used to communicate with a distant, rapidly moving spacecraft. More via: European Space Agency

PICTURE: Built specifically for the commissioning of the laser communication terminal on-board Artemis, the OGS (Optical Ground Station) is also operating as Europe's first post for observing space debris in geostationary transfer orbits. For that purpose, a sophisticated liquid nitrogen cooled CCD camera and focal reducer are part of the system.