Pleumeur-Bodou Ground Station


Pleumeur-Bodou Ground Station was an early ground station in north-west France, and one of the first in the world. It was the site of the first satellite transmission between the USA and Europe in the early morning of 11 July 1962, lasting 19 minutes on the satellite's seventh orbit.

History

The tracking station was developed by France Télécom, now known as Orange S.A.. The site was built by the Centre national d'études des télécommunications, which became France Télécom R&D in 2000.
There was also another nearby tracking station at Lannion, which is also the landing point for the Apollo from the USA.

First transatlantic satellite broadcast

The first transatlantic satellite broadcast took place at the site on the morning of 11 July 1962. Later that day, France broadcast back to the USA via the satellite.

Structure

The site is around three miles east of Trébeurden. The site has three large parabolic antennas.

Antennas