WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency and NASA have signed an agreement covering satellite tracking, spacecraft navigation and mission operations.
The agreement, signed last month in Washington at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters, involves the agencies' new "Network and Operations Cross-support" agreement.
Such support has been provided in the past, but was limited only to the sharing of ground tracking stations and had to be arranged for each mission separately through a letter of agreement, which was a long process.
"The agreement means ESA and NASA can provide each other network support and space operations services more quickly and this is becoming very significant," Manfred Warhaut, director of the ESA's mission operations department, said Monday. "The sharing of resources is a sensible and efficient way to achieve enhanced space science value in an era of tight budgets."
The first application of the new agreement is expected during the critical launch and early orbit phase of NASA's upcoming Dawn and Phoenix missions. The ESA will furnish support via its Perth and Kourou 15-meter antenna stations.
