New RAEGE Station in Gran Canaria: A Milestone for Global Geodesy

The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMS) has officially begun the construction of the third RAEGE station on a site granted by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria to the National Geographic Institute (IGN) in March 2023. This new geodetic facility, located in Temisas (Agüimes, Gran Canaria), will complement the existing RAEGE stations in Yebes (Spain) and Santa María (Azores, Portugal), with a fourth station planned for Flores Island (Azores, Portugal). In this way, RAEGE will improve its contribution to the studies of our planet changes and improve reference frames for navigation and positioning.

As in Yebes and Santa Maria, the RAEGE Gran Canaria station will be equipped with a VGOS radio telescope for astronomical and geodetic observations, GNSS receivers, an atomic clock, gravimeters, and additional geophysical instrumentation such as seismographs. Additionally, a 1,000-square-meter building will house the control room, offices, laboratories and two domes for telescopes, enabling near-Earth object (NEO) detection and satellite laser ranging (SLR) to geodetic satellites, respectively, together with space debris tracking.

The construction works, valued at 6 million euros, are expected to be completed within 26 months. To mark this milestone, an official groundbreaking ceremony was held, featuring speeches by Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano Clavero, Undersecretary Rafael Guerra Posadas, President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales Méndez, Mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández Suárez, and IGN Director General, Lorenzo García Asensio, together with Deputy Director of Astronomy and Geodesy, José A. López-Fernández, and RAEGE Director José A. López-Pérez. A representative from the Regional Government of Azores was present, too. The event also featured two videos with international greetings from GGOS Vice President, Anna Riddell, and Nicholas Brown, Director of the United Nations Global Geodetic Center of Excellence (UN-GGCE).