Fires near Madrid Force Evacuation of NASA’s DSN Facility

Wildfires near Madrid, Spain forced the evacuation of NASA’s Deep Space Network facility there today. The agency reports that everyone is safe. The Madrid station is one of three around the world that communicate with spacecraft traveling throughout the solar system. NASA’s DSN in Goldstone, CA is taking over operations for now.

Spain and France are battling wildfires in many regions right now. The BBC reports that more than 130,000 people have been evacuated in the two countries.

NASA’s DSN station is in Robledo de Chavela, Spain, about 65 kilometers (37 miles) west of Madrid. La Razon reports that the entire town was evacuated.  INFUES Ávila, which tracks forest fires in the province of Avila, posted an image on X (@InfuesAvila) of fire and smoke near one of the antennas.

In response to a query from SpacePolicyOnline.com this afternoon, NASA responded that all personnel are safe and an assessment of the damage will begin when the danger has passed.

NASA’s three DSN stations in Madrid, Spain, Goldstone, California, and Canberra, Australia communicate with spacecraft that go out into space beyond earth orbit, whether staying as close as the Moon or traveling beyond the heliosphere into interstellar space like Voyager 1 and 2. By having these three stations positioned 120 degrees apart around the globe, continuous line-of-sight can be maintained.