tracking station

American  

noun

1. a facility equipped with instrumentation for following the flight path of, communicating with, and collecting data from a rocket or spacecraft.

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tracking station British  

noun

1. a station that can use a radio or radar beam to determine and follow the path of an object, esp a spacecraft or satellite, in space or in the atmosphere

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Etymology

Origin of tracking station

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Taiwan's official Central News Agency said a weather tracking station on Orchid Island recorded Taiwan's strongest wind in 126 years as the typhoon hit late Wednesday.

From Reuters • Oct. 5, 2023

Forest Service to fund and install a $10,000 tracking station at Bear Divide.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2023

It operates a satellite tracking station in Argentina that reports to the People’s Liberation Army and has no oversight from local officials in Buenos Aires.

From Washington Times • Jan. 19, 2023

He worked ground electronics at a tracking station near Madrid, Spain, with stations also in Australia and California, to keep continual track of the signal sent by the spacecraft.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 1, 2022

As the craft flew overhead, it telemetered a torrent of data to the closest tracking station, everything from its speed and altitude to its fuel level and the astronaut’s heart rate.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly