Engineers at ESOC handled the test from the ground

During three orbital passes at 352 kilometres above the Earth, the proximity communication link - indispensable for the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) planned for next year - was able to transmit "loud and clear" signals from the Station to two ground stations in Spain during a downlink test. Four ESA engineers from European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany handled the communication test on the ground.