Home > Technical Information > SPOT system exploitation > Direct Receiving Station exploitation

Spot receiving stations operate on 8 GHz (X-band). The visibility circle of these stations is approximately 2500 km radius. This network comprises two types of stations: Two main stations located at Toulouse (France) and Kiruna (Sweden). When a satellite is within range of one of these main stations, it can be programmed either to down-link image data in real-time or play back the onboard recorders and transmit image data recorded earlier. Hence, these 2 stations have access to imagery of any part of the globe. The direct receiving stations (DRS), which can only receive telemetry within their visibility circle. Each DRS effectively manages its own visibility zone according to the satellite resources allocated by Spot Image. For each allocated pass, the operator can either specify directly the imaging conditions through a dedicated dialogue with a front end computer (FAS) located in Spot Image or let the Programming Centre (CPR) automatically program the instruments taking into account the requests previously specified by the station. The SPOT satellites’ image acquisition and frequent revisit capabilities enable Spot Image to meet demands even when the satellites are in between the receiving footprints of two ground stations. If necessary, Spot Image offers solutions that resolve any programming clashes. SPOT 5 image telemetry is encoded to protect direct receiving stations from illegal eavesdropping. The SPOT 5 licence includes the Spot Image decoder. Some receiving stations also distribute SPOT imagery within their own territory. The images acquired by all the stations are accessible to all Spot Image customers through its central automated archive management system. Customers look up the joint archive through the SIRIUS on-line catalogue.