Radom Raisting, Radome structure in Raisting, Germany

The Radom Raisting is a white spherical air-supported dome, 49 metres across, resting on a low rectangular building of white panels with a band of small windows along the top. Inside stands a parabolic antenna 25 metres in diameter. The hall was supplied by the US firm Birdair and inflated on 10 October 1963; the antenna was then assembled beneath it.

The facility was built between 1963 and 1964 as Germany's first commercial ground station for satellite communications. It played a key role in 1969 when it transmitted the Apollo 11 moon landing broadcast to European television audiences.

The antenna inside the dome carried the first regular transatlantic television broadcast on 20 January 1965, the swearing-in of re-elected US President Johnson. Public telephone service via the Intelsat I satellite opened on 28 June 1965, with signals routed over a directional radio link to the Zugspitze. The dome also relayed the 1972 Munich Olympic Summer Games.

Visitors can take guided tours to explore the exhibition spaces and learn about the technology and history. The site is best visited on clear days when you can fully appreciate the scale and design of the dome from outside.

The air-supported shell, supplied by the US firm Birdair, was inflated on 10 October 1963, and the 25-metre antenna was assembled inside it afterwards. A storm tore the cover down on 28 February 2020, water damaged the electrical systems, and a new shell was fitted on 17 October 2021.