Polar orbiting satellites flying at an orbit of 850 km above the earth pick up the signals and store them on-board and relay them in real-time back to earth.
Receiving stations relay data from satellites to processing centers
Over 40 antennas located at all points of the globe collect the data from satellites. Data are either received in real-time by a regional antenna in the satellites' path or stored on-board and relayed to the nearest global antennas. Today, most of the globe is covered by the real-time antenna network.
Processing centers collect all incoming data, process them and distribute them to users
There are two global Argos processing centers, one located just outside of Toulouse in Southwestern France, and the other near Washington, DC, USA. Once the data arrive at a processing center, locations are automatically calculated and information made available to users.
Argos users around the world receive data directly in their office or on-site, depending on their choice (email, fax, web, cd-rom, or directly on mapping software). Once the data are received, they are often shared with the scientific community or by the governments or industries that use the data as important management tools.
