Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In October 2000, the Chinese Government signed an agreement with Nambia agreeing to finance the construction of a tracking, telemetry and command station in the coastal town of Swakopmund. The station was constructed at a cost of roughly N$12 million, covering an area of 150 meters by 85 meters, and consists of an administration building, kitchen and dining complex, garage and generator room, and a dorm complex. The facility has two antennae/satellite dishes, 5 meters and 9 meters in diameter, and up to 16 meters in height. Construction of the station was said to have been completed in July 2001. The station houses 20 permanent staff during a mission phase, with five personnel constantly maintaining the equipment. It is located on a site just north of Swakopmund to the east of the Henties Bay-Swakopmund road and opposite the Swakopmund Salt Works. Windhoek Consulting Engineers was the contractor responsible for implementation of the project. Prime Minister Nahas Angula inaugurated the space science and technology station on July 2, 2010. China's Xi'an Satellite Control Center in Shaanxi now operates the ground station. In March 2018, China and Namibia signed an agreement to add a satellite data receiving ground station onto this facility (recorded in the linked Record ID#62304).