Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station

{{Short description|Signals intelligence listening station in Western Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}{{coord|28|41|42|S|114|50|32|E|region:AU-WA_type:landmark|display=title}}

The Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS), an Earth station in Australia is located at Kojarena {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Geraldton, Western Australia. The ADSCS is part of the US signals intelligence and analysis network ECHELON.{{cite news |title= Tracking down the masters of terror |url= http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/16/1047749659596.html |work= The Age |date=17 March 2003 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}{{cite news |first=Gary |last=Adshead |title=Secret WA spy base |work=The Sunday Times (Perth) |date=10 June 2001 |page=20}}

This Defence facility contributes to Australia's National Security and Defence. The Proposal to develop the station was announced in March 1987, work commenced on site in 1988 and was completed in 1993. The buildings, Antennas and other station facilities occupy about 26 hectares.

The surrounding buffer zone of 442 hectares is also owned by the Commonwealth and provides protection for the station against external electrical interference. The buffer zone land is farmed under license by the former land owners.

Australian Construction Services, part of the Department of Administrative Services, managed the construction of the site buildings and services. The antennas, of Australian design, were erected by a joint venture between AWA Defence Industries and Baulderstone Engineering. The site's construction workforce peaked at 170 in mid-1990.

The station has four satellite tracking dishes which intercept communications from Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Pakistani regional satellites[http://www.canf.org/2006/1in/ensayos/2006-may-29-interception.htm Interception of satellite communications] Ing Manuel Cereijo, 29 May 2006 The Cuban American National Federation [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721051242/http://www.canf.org/2006/1in/ensayos/2006-may-29-interception.htm archived version] and international communications satellites (Intelsats and COMSATs), throughout the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian regions. Staff are drawn from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and the site is operated under the UKUSA Agreement.{{cite web |url=http://world-information.org/wio/infostructure/100437611746/100438659207/?ic=100446325884 |title=ECHELON Main Stations |publisher=World-Information.Org |date= |accessdate=2010-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022041237/http://world-information.org/wio/infostructure/100437611746/100438659207/?ic=100446325884 |archive-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}

In 2007, after signing an agreement[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/2007/15.html "Agreement Between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America on Cooperation in Science and Technology for Homeland/Domestic Security Matters (Washington, 21 December 2005) ATS 15 of 2007“]. Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaties Library. Retrieved on 18 April 2017. it was announced that an additional but separate US military communications facility would be built within the grounds of the ADSCGS. It will consist of three {{convert|19|m|ft|abbr=on}} antennas and two smaller antennas making up a joint US-Australian ground station for the US Department of Defense Mobile User Objective System, a narrow-band networked satellite constellation for Ultra-High-Frequency satellite communications enabling secure all-weather and all-terrain 3-G mobile telecommunications.

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{{Cite press release

|title=Australia-US Joint Communications Facility To Be Hosted At Geraldton

|publisher=Brendan Nelson, Minister for Defence

|date=2007-02-15

|url=http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/NelsonMintpl.cfm?CurrentId=6375

|accessdate=2011-08-11

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523052129/http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/NelsonMintpl.cfm?CurrentId=6375

|archivedate=23 May 2007

|df=dmy

}}

{{Cite press release

|title=MOU Signed For Australia-US Joint Military Communications Ground Station

|publisher=Department of Defence

|date=2007-11-08

|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/media/DepartmentalTpl.cfm?CurrentId=7242

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121127003933/http://www.defence.gov.au/media/DepartmentalTpl.cfm?CurrentId=7242

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2012-11-27

|accessdate=2011-08-11

}}

{{Cite press release

| title = Australian and United States Defence Satellite Cooperation at Geraldton

| publisher = Department of Defence

| date = 2008-07-21

| url = http://www.defence.gov.au/media/DepartmentalTpl.cfm?CurrentId=8007

| archiveurl = https://archive.today/20121129044751/http://www.defence.gov.au/media/DepartmentalTpl.cfm?CurrentId=8007

| archivedate = 2012-11-29

| url-status = dead

| accessdate = 2011-08-11}}