Wildfires Force Evacuation of NASA Deep Space Station Near Madrid
NASA said all personnel were evacuated safely as the fire disrupted communications and forced other Deep Space Network sites to take over.
- On Friday, wildfires near Madrid forced the evacuation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Deep Space Network site in Robledo de Chavela, taking the facility offline.
- Spanish authorities declared a wildfire emergency, issuing evacuation orders for 60,000 people as record high temperatures and chronic drought conditions fueled blazes across the region.
- Flames damaged cables and water lines, flooding the antenna base with 200,000 gallons of glycol-contaminated water; NASA successfully shifted operations to its Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California to ensure continuity.
- Repairs are projected to cost between $4.1 million and $4.6 million, with the site likely remaining offline until 2028; the European Space Agency also evacuated its nearby Cebreros tracking station.
- The Deep Space Network is now down to one operational 70-meter antenna in Australia, as the California site has been offline since last year following an equipment accident.
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48 Articles
Southwestern France and Spain are faced with almost uncontrollable fires. Megafires on Earth that may well affect what is happening in space. Crossed by the flames, an important NASA communications centre was in fact evacuated to Madrid on 24 July 2026.
A complete assessment of their condition will be carried out when the authorities allow safe accessThe fire in Ávila already razes some 22,000 hectares and leaves more than 30,000 evicted The European Space Agency (ESA) deep space monitoring station in Cebreros, in the province of Ávila, appears not to have suffered damage due to the forest fire that affects the area, although it has not yet been able to be inspected, according to the director g…
This installation in Robledo de Chavela is part of an essential system composed of only three large complexes in Spain, USA and Australia.
Asharq AL-awsat
Major NASA Site in Spain Hit by Wildfire
Massive wildfires in Europe on Friday forced NASA to evacuate one of its three global deep space communications facilities in Spain, impacting the agency's ability to communicate with space probes. The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) is located in Robledo, about 37 miles (65 kilometers) west of central Madrid, a NASA spokesperson told AFP in a statement. "The wildfire has passed through the MDSCC. Any potential damage will be as…
The evolution of the fire forced 90 employees to evacuate, although the authorities have not confirmed that the fire has reached the municipality
One of the fires that is raging in the vicinity of Madrid "crossed" this Nasa complex called MDSCC. It is one of the sites that allows to maintain communications with the machines
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