Wildfire forces evacuation of NASA’s Deep Space Network complex in Spain

西班牙山火迫使 NASA 深空网络设施撤离

A fast-moving wildfire, one of many raging across Spain, bore down on the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex on Friday, forcing an evacuation and temporarily suspending operations at one of NASA’s most important tracking stations. 周五，一场在西班牙各地肆虐的快速蔓延的山火逼近马德里深空通信中心，迫使该设施进行人员撤离，并暂时中断了 NASA 最重要的跟踪站之一的运营。

The tracking station is part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, operating in concert with similar facilities in California and Australia to provide global coverage as Earth’s rotation brings the planets, stars, and deep space probes in and out of view. The network supports more than 40 missions from the Moon to the edge of the Solar System, including Artemis, the James Webb Space Telescope, and NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft. 该跟踪站是 NASA 深空网络（DSN）的一部分，与位于加利福尼亚州和澳大利亚的同类设施协同工作，随着地球的自转，确保行星、恒星和深空探测器在进入或离开视野时能获得全球覆盖的通信支持。该网络支持着从月球到太阳系边缘的 40 多项任务，包括“阿尔忒弥斯”计划、詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜以及 NASA 的双子旅行者号探测器。

A NASA spokesperson confirmed the tracking station in Spain, located in the hills nearly 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of central Madrid, was evaluated Friday “due to ongoing wildfires in the region. Photos and video from the area showed flames and smoke plumes rising over the ground station’s antenna array, anchored by a 230-foot-diameter (70-meter) radio dish and a collection of smaller 112-foot (34-meter) antennas. “Any potential damage will be assessed when it is safe to do so,” the spokesperson said in a statement. NASA 发言人证实，位于马德里市中心以西约 40 英里（65 公里）处山区的西班牙跟踪站已于周五进行撤离，原因是“该地区持续发生山火”。现场照片和视频显示，火焰和烟雾在地面站的天线阵列上方升起，该阵列由一座直径 230 英尺（70 米）的无线电天线和多座较小的 112 英尺（34 米）天线组成。发言人在声明中表示：“一旦环境安全，我们将评估任何潜在的损坏情况。”

The Deep Space Network is managed by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA officials are monitoring wildfires in the Madrid region in coordination with local authorities and the US Embassy. “In the meantime, the agency has seamlessly transitioned support for mission operations to the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California, ensuring continuity of service and uninterrupted support for spacecraft communications,” the NASA spokesperson said. 深空网络由 NASA 的空间通信与导航部门及喷气推进实验室（JPL）共同管理。NASA 官员正与当地政府及美国大使馆协调，密切监测马德里地区的山火情况。NASA 发言人表示：“在此期间，该机构已无缝将任务运营支持转移至加利福尼亚州的戈德斯通深空通信中心，以确保服务连续性，并不间断地支持航天器通信。”

NASA typically runs the Deep Space Network using a “follow the Sun” model, in which control centers at each DSN site in Australia, California, and Spain can remotely operate the entire network during local daytime hours. Antennas at each location operate around the clock. A NASA website providing status updates on each DSN complex showed no activity at the Madrid site Friday afternoon, while antennas at the California and Australia locations were communicating with several NASA spacecraft, such as Voyager 2 and Juno, exploring interstellar space and Jupiter, respectively. NASA 通常采用“追随太阳”模式运行深空网络，即澳大利亚、加利福尼亚和西班牙的各 DSN 站点控制中心可以在当地白天时间远程操作整个网络。各地的天线全天候运行。NASA 提供各 DSN 站点状态更新的网站显示，周五下午马德里站点没有任何活动，而加利福尼亚和澳大利亚站点的天线正在与多艘 NASA 航天器进行通信，例如正在探索星际空间的旅行者 2 号和正在探测木星的朱诺号。

“The safety and well‑being of our personnel is our highest priority and our thoughts are with the families and neighbors who are also experiencing the impact of the wildfires in the surrounding communities,” NASA said. “We will provide updates as conditions evolve.” NASA 表示：“我们人员的安全与福祉是我们的首要任务，我们心系那些同样受到周边社区山火影响的家庭和邻居。随着情况的发展，我们将提供最新消息。”

A separate deep space tracking station owned and operated by the Spanish government and the European Space Agency was also evacuated due to wildfires, according to Spanish news reports. The Cebreros tracking station, part of ESA’s Estrack network, is located a few miles away from NASA’s DSN facility. Reuters reported Friday that Spanish authorities ordered more than 19,000 people to evacuate from towns in the mountains west of Madrid. More than 2,000 personnel and 10 aircraft were deployed to combat the wildfires. 据西班牙新闻报道，由西班牙政府和欧洲航天局拥有并运营的另一座深空跟踪站也因山火进行了撤离。作为欧空局 Estrack 网络一部分的塞夫雷罗斯（Cebreros）跟踪站，距离 NASA 的 DSN 设施仅几英里。路透社周五报道称，西班牙当局已下令马德里西部山区城镇的 19,000 多人撤离。目前已部署超过 2,000 名人员和 10 架飞机参与灭火。

A summer heat wave and chronic drought conditions have made conditions ripe for wildfires across Spain and France. Without the Madrid location, the Deep Space Network is down to one operational 70-meter radio antenna in Australia. The 70-meter antenna in California has been offline since last year due to an accident that “over-rotated” the structure. The incident damaged cables and water lines, flooding the base of the antenna with 200,000 gallons of water containing glycol, an environmental hazard. The cleanup and repair is projected to cost between $4.1 million and $4.6 million. NASA officials are combining the repairs with already-planned upgrades. The work is expected to keep the antenna offline into 2028. 夏季热浪和长期干旱使得西班牙和法国各地极易发生山火。随着马德里站点的停用，深空网络目前仅剩澳大利亚的一座 70 米无线电天线在运行。加利福尼亚的那座 70 米天线自去年起因“过度旋转”事故而离线。该事故损坏了电缆和水管，导致 20 万加仑含有乙二醇（一种环境危害物质）的水淹没了天线基座。清理和维修费用预计在 410 万至 460 万美元之间。NASA 官员正将维修工作与既定的升级计划合并进行，预计该天线将持续离线至 2028 年。

The good news for DSN is the next Artemis mission to the Moon is still at least a couple of years away. Artemis missions put high demand on DSN, with additional requirements for telemetry and imagery downlinks to support human spaceflight. Artemis III will now fly in low-Earth orbit to test the Orion capsule with commercial Moon landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. Artemis IV, the program’s first planned lunar landing with astronauts, is targeted for no earlier than 2028. 对于深空网络来说，好消息是下一次“阿尔忒弥斯”登月任务至少还有几年时间。“阿尔忒弥斯”任务对深空网络要求极高，需要额外的遥测和图像下行链路来支持载人航天飞行。“阿尔忒弥斯 3 号”目前计划在近地轨道飞行，以测试猎户座飞船与 SpaceX 和蓝色起源公司的商业月球着陆器。而作为该计划首次载人登月任务的“阿尔忒弥斯 4 号”，目标定于 2028 年之后进行。