Project Highlights 2005 - NASA/GGN Station Upgrade, Cordoba, Argentina

The NASA/GGN Cordoba (CORD) GPS station is located at the Comision Nacional De Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) facility between Alta Gracia and Cordoba, in Argentina. The CONAE facility was originally used by the Argentinean military for missile development and testing. Many buildings on the property were constructed of massive reinforced concrete to withstand potential explosions, making them very stable and suitable for an antenna mount. The GPS antenna is mounted on the parapet of one such building using a stainless steel pin and UNAVCO style leveling mount.

The CORD station was originally installed in July 1999, and received a complete upgrade during this March 2005 visit. New equipment includes an Ashtech MicroZ (CGRS) receiver, a chokering antenna, a RedHat Linux download computer, and upgraded site communications which utilize Intuicom wireless Ethernet bridges. The local Internet access point is nearly 1km away at the CONAE facility. The new wireless Internet connection supports high-rate, real-time data streams from the GPS receiver, as well as the typical hourly and daily IGS products.