A redundant UK satellite ground station will be kick-started into life to handle communications with future deep-space missions
The Goonhilly site in the south west of the country handled the first transatlantic satellite broadcasts in the early 1960s and was instrumental in beaming major events around the world until it was decommissioned in 2006.
Now part of the site is to be dusted down and upgraded to handle deep-space communications and provide an R&D facility for astrophysics students, the BBC reports.
Goonhilly Earth Station – a consortium comprising Oxford University, the UK Space Agency and the International Space Innovation Centre – will lease antennae at the site from BT for three years, the news site said.
In addition to the communications and research potential, GES will also participate in the Square Kilometre Array, a global £1.5 billion (€1.8 billion) project to link satellites, The Independent reports.