Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digitization Bogdan Ivan announced on Monday the completion of the modernisation works at the satellite communications centre in Cheia.

„We have completed the modernisation of the first teleport in Romania. (…) The operating funds for the Cheia centre will continue to be provided by Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitization (MCID), through the Romanian Space Agency,” the minister wrote on Facebook.

The satellite communications centre in Cheia has a tradition of nearly 50 years and is the most advanced in the region.

The centre ensures the transmission to the satellite of TV programmes, which are then received by each client at home using a parabolic antenna, as well as the detection of both natural and artificial objects.

„Through the funds invested in modernisation, we ensure the detection and monitoring of artificial objects. For those with a surface area of at least 20 square centimetres, the system can identify objects the size of an egg at orbital distances between 200 km and 2,000 km. For those with a minimum surface area of one square metre, the system can detect objects the size of a coffee table up to a distance of 36,000 km,” explained Bogdan Ivan.

The Cheia centre also ensures the detection and tracking of fixed celestial bodies.

AGERPRES