ECA GROUP, expert in the development of satellite tracking systems, has furnished the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) with DORIS beacons since the 1980s. Since then, ECA GROUP has been developing three generations of ground beacons for the CNES’s DORIS system. In 2020, ECA GROUP delivered 20 antennas, and in the coming two years, the company will deliver 50 more for the renewal of the CNES’s satellite stations.
DORIS is a name given to the French space system for precise orbit determination and positioning that includes ECA GROUP’s ground beacon antennas. DORIS stands for Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellites. The beacons work like an ‘inverted GPS’ as they send a signal from the ground to the satellite to know its correct position in orbit. The DORIS antennas send out a signal every 10 seconds in two different frequencies, allowing measurements with ultimate precision.