A facility or system designed to communicate with aircraft or spacecraft, including satellites. Situated on the ground, hence its name; however, ground stations can be placed on ships or other seagoing objects without losing the designation. A ground station is usually the location of the transmitter and receiver apparatus which perform this function; this may be separate from the actual antenna, although typically it includes all three. If the signal is originating elsewhere on the surface and being relayed through a transmitter/receiver, the ground station is not the signal origin but the transmitter/receiver and antenna. For example, when NASA talks to its manned spacecraft, CAPCOM is typically in Houston, Texas but the signal is (usually) being relayed through one or more ground stations for transmission to the spacecraft.