![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2016\/09\/cebreros_drone\/16145184-1-eng-GB\/Cebreros_drone_small.jpg\")
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\nEarlier this month, the team at ESA\u2019s deep-space tracking station at Cebreros, near Madrid, Spain, ran a series of test flights to image the antenna using a Dji Phantom 3 drone controlled with an iPad.\n<\/p>\n
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\nThe team are trialling the use of a drone to perform routine maintenance inspections of the station\u2019s massive 35 m-diameter dish. It may also be effective for inspecting the site\u2019s fencing and other facilities.\n<\/p>\n
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\nWe\u2019ve cut some of the video they recorded into a half-minute teaser (see below), which provides excellent views of the gorgeous white station, the site and its buildings and the surrounding countryside. \n<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cWe really see the effect of the forest fire that occurred few years ago \u2013 there are no pine trees any more on the drive from the hill hosting the so-called ‘calibration tower’ to the antenna \u2013 and we can also see the benefits of our well-maintained firebreak, which saved the station during the same forest fire,\u201d says Lionel Hernandez, station manager.\n<\/p>\n
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\nESA\u2019s Cebreros station sits 77 km west of Madrid. It provides routine communication with deep-space missions such as Mars Express, Gaia and Rosetta.\n<\/p>\n
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\nMore information<\/b>
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