Space Regulatory Glossary Industry

earth station

noun

1. A ground-based facility equipped to communicate with one or more satellites. Earth stations transmit uplink signals and receive downlink signals, serving as the terrestrial endpoint of a satellite communications link.
2. Licensed by the FCC under Part 25 using SES-series filings in IBFS. Earth stations range from large gateway facilities with multi-meter antennas to compact VSAT terminals and receive-only installations.

Read: How Ground Station Licensing Works

Related terms

uplink The transmission path from a ground station to a satellite, or the signal itself. Uplinks carry commands, software… downlink The transmission path from a satellite to a ground station, or the signal itself. In satellite communications, the… FCC The Federal Communications Commission. The U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating interstate and international… IBFS The International Bureau Filing System. The FCC's electronic filing platform for satellite and international…

Mentioned in The Downlink

• How Ground Station Licensing Works: A Complete Guide

  Earth station types, FCC licensing steps, frequency coordination, ESIMs, and common mistakes. A plain-language guide to ground station licensing.

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