Your mission, our tools
PARI offers businesses and organizations the tools required to stay in contact with their spacecraft from Low Earth Orbit, to Lunar, and beyond.
Achieve your objectives faster using PARI’s satellite and data services instead of building your own. Whether it be one-off launch telemetry and tracking or long term missions in need of regular communications, we're ready to help.
Since the 1960's our site has been dedicated to supporting the cutting edge of space technology. Built by NASA, used by the Department of Defense.
Our abilities are still strong. PARI regularly tracks exciting and innovative missions to keep our skills honed.
Beyond the radio dishes themselves, PARI has the connectivity to get your data to you, the systems to keep it reliable, and the staff & infrastructure to keep your data safe and secure.
Take a look at the apertures we have available.
Please note that except where noted, these are not spacecraft we have been asked to track, simply ones we felt it would be interesting to observe on our own, or with students, interns, or guests. Our receiving from a spacecraft does not imply in any way that we are affiliated with the spacecraft of any of its operators.
PARI was officially chosen by NASA to participate as a ground station for the Artemis II mission which flew in April of 2026. We passively tracked the craft and received radio waves used for the measurement of Doppler shift, involved in measuring movement.
GPS Satellites are a common target at PARI. Not only do they help us verify our pointing and calibration, but they are excellent for education, outreach, and engagement. When a group of students visits us to learn about satellite communications, a GPS satellite allows us to easily demo different signal and modulation types. Sometimes there are even some "bloopers" where unintended signals are picked up and relayed back down via the SAR payload.
The STEREO A (ahead) satellite is one of a pair launched to study the Sun. When it is in a favorable position in the sky relative to the Sun, PARI is able to track it and receive its data transmission. The data is then interpreted into a series of images of the Sun in ultraviolet, then put together into a video showing sun spots and solar flares erupting. This also provides a powerful and engaging example for guests and students visiting PARI.
Though the Ka-band data downlink for the JWST is a little beyond the capabilities PARI is currently configured for, the telemetry downlink in S-band is receivable by our 26 meter dishes. A Lagrange point spacecraft that is also such an incredible instrument was an irresistible target for us to aim at and test our abilities. We weren't sure we would get detectable data, but we did!
When we learned an American built lander was heading to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, we had to take a peek. We aimed our dishes and watched the signal come in then switch polarities as it reflected off the surface of the Moon.
Art and science are often intertwined in the way we represent data and understand the world around us. They also inspire one another. PARI is proud to have participated in Librations by receiving Moon bounce signals and Aerocene Symposium by receiving 21cm signal from the area around a pulsar with Carmelo Pampillonio.
Though we are not able to disclose specific missions or clients, PARI performs tracking and data downlink services for a variety of spacecraft.
PARI’s on-site radio telescopes were originally constructed by NASA for communication with satellites and spacecraft and are still viable today. These instruments may be modified to customer specifications for tracking and communications with satellites in low Earth orbit or others out in deep space.
Our on-site networking is carried by fiber optics and our internet connectivity comes into the site through multiple routes from multiple providers. We can provide the communications reliability you need.
Critical systems are protected by carrier-grade UPS systems and multiple redundant on-site generators.
PARI is located in a remote, yet accessible, setting. Our campus is ~200 acres mostly surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest, minimizing interference. But, with the Asheville Regional Airport and Interstates 26 and 40 only an hour away, and an on-site private helicopter pad, getting to us is easy.
The campus us protected by gated access, camera surveillance, and security patrols. It is surrounded by mountains providing a site naturally protected from extreme weather.
Ready to go?
Contact us to see how we can support your next mission!
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