New Norcia - Inauguration of ESA's fourth deep space antenna

On 4 October 2025, the European Space Agency has expanded its capability to communicate with scientific, exploration and space safety missions across our Solar System with the inauguration of a new 35-m diameter deep space antenna in New Norcia, Western Australia – the fourth for Estrack, ESA’s satellite tracking network. The inauguration ceremony was led by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher alongside Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency, and Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations, together with Stephen Dawson, the Western Australia Minister for Regional Development, Ports, Science and Innovation, Medical Research and the Kimberley, with Sabine Winton, Western Australia Minister for Education, Early Childhood, Preventative Health and the Wheatbelt, in attendance. When the new deep space antenna enters service in 2026, it will support ESA’s current flagship missions flown as part of the Agency's scientific, exploration and space safety fleets, including Juice, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, Mars Express and Hera, and will be a critical enabler for upcoming missions including Plato, Envision, Ariel, Ramses and Vigil.