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\nShining as brightly as the Moon in a clear Spanish night, new LED lighting installed at ESA\u2019s Cebreros tracking station is saving energy and money, while ensuring efficient station operation.\n<\/p>\n
\nAs part of continuing efforts to reduce its environmental impact, ESA is looking to reduce energy consumption across all establishments and sites. Until now, Cebreros tracking station, located in Avila, Spain, near Madrid, was lit using linear fluorescents for ambient lighting, with halogen spots illuminating the entrance and streets.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe entire lighting infrastructure has been updated to use energy-saving LED lighting. The project was no small task, and required the replacement of almost 800 lights, including interior and exterior lighting and the projectors used to illuminate the station at night.\n<\/p>\n
\nTotal power consumption has been reduced by more than 60%, generating a saving of approximately \u20ac15 000 annually, and the project will pay for itself in just five years.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe project was completed for ESA by Spanish company Fasual<\/a> and was managed by the onsite station team.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe have improved the lighting quality at the station while ensuring that we comply with Spanish regulations,\u201d says Station Manager Lionel Hernandez.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe are delighted with the results and the positive feedback from staff \u2013 there has been a dramatic aesthetic and quality improvement and operationally we have seen a significant cost reduction.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nCebreros Station is part of ESA\u2019s worldwide Estrack ground station network.\n<\/p>\n \nIt entered service as the second deep-space terminal in 2005 (the other two are located at New Norcia, Australia, and Malarg\u00fce, Argentina). It provides routine support to deep-space missions such as Mars Express, Gaia and Rosetta, as well as missions flown by other agencies.\n<\/p>\n \nThe antenna dish is 35 m in diameter and the entire structure is 40 m high and weighs about 620 tonnes. Engineers can point the antenna with a speed of 1 degree per second in both axes. Cebreros\u2019 servo control system assures the highest possible pointing accuracy under the site\u2019s environmental, wind and temperature conditions.\n<\/p>\n \nIn 2015, the Estrack network turns 40 and will celebrate four decades of linking people with spacecraft travelling to the frontiers of human knowledge.\n<\/p>\n \nTo help mark this milestone, ESA is hosting the \u2018Estrack 40th Anniversary Sound Contest\u2019 and is inviting composers to submit their audio compositions, one of which will be selected as the new theme audio for Estrack (see link below for details).\n<\/p>\n \nAdditional Cebreros LED lighting project images are available in Flickr<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nMore information\n<\/p>\n \nEstrack website<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \nCebreros webcam<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n#Estrack40 contest via SoundCloud<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \t\t\t\t\t \nShining as brightly as the Moon in a clear Spanish night, new LED lighting installed at ESA\u2019s Cebreros tracking station is saving energy and money, while ensuring efficient station operation.\n<\/p>\n \nAs part of continuing efforts to reduce its environmental impact, ESA is looking to reduce energy consumption across all establishments and sites. Until now, Cebreros tracking station, located in Avila, Spain, near Madrid, was lit using linear fluorescents for ambient lighting, with halogen spots illuminating the entrance and streets.\n<\/p>\n \nThe entire lighting infrastructure has been updated to use energy-saving LED lighting. The project was no small task, and required the replacement of almost 800 lights, including interior and exterior lighting and the projectors used to illuminate the station at night.\n<\/p>\n \nTotal power consumption has been reduced by more than 60%, generating a saving of approximately \u20ac15 000 annually, and the project will pay for itself in just five years.\n<\/p>\n \nThe project was completed for ESA by Spanish company Fasual<\/a> and was managed by the onsite station team.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe have improved the lighting quality at the station while ensuring that we comply with Spanish regulations,\u201d says Station Manager Lionel Hernandez.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe are delighted with the results and the positive feedback from staff \u2013 there has been a dramatic aesthetic and quality improvement and operationally we have seen a significant cost reduction.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nCebreros Station is part of ESA\u2019s worldwide Estrack ground station network.\n<\/p>\n \nIt entered service as the second deep-space terminal in 2005 (the other two are located at New Norcia, Australia, and Malarg\u00fce, Argentina). It provides routine support to deep-space missions such as Mars Express, Gaia and Rosetta, as well as missions flown by other agencies.\n<\/p>\n \nThe antenna dish is 35 m in diameter and the entire structure is 40 m high and weighs about 620 tonnes. Engineers can point the antenna with a speed of 1 degree per second in both axes. Cebreros\u2019 servo control system assures the highest possible pointing accuracy under the site\u2019s environmental, wind and temperature conditions.\n<\/p>\n \nIn 2015, the Estrack network turns 40 and will celebrate four decades of linking people with spacecraft travelling to the frontiers of human knowledge.\n<\/p>\n \nTo help mark this milestone, ESA is hosting the \u2018Estrack 40th Anniversary Sound Contest\u2019 and is inviting composers to submit their audio compositions, one of which will be selected as the new theme audio for Estrack (see link below for details).\n<\/p>\n \nAdditional Cebreros LED lighting project images are available in Flickr<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nMore information\n<\/p>\n \nEstrack website<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n