The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences operates a satellite receiving station at Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (78° 55´ North, 11° 56´ East) in order to receive data from research satellites in polar orbits. The station is located about 1 km outside the village, between the local airport and the Kings Bay.

The Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Station of the GFZ Potsdam has been continuously operating within the framework of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) since January 2003.

The South African Geodynamic Observatory Sutherland (SAGOS) of GFZ was established during the years 1998 – 2000 based on an Agreement on Cooperative Activities between the National Research Foundation (NRF) and GFZ, signed in August 1998. SAGOS is located at the site of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). The operation and maintenance of the SAGOS instrumentation is jointly done by staff of SAAO and GFZ.

The Zugspitze Geodynamic Observatory (ZUGOG) was established in September 2018 on top of mountain Zugspitze in the European Alps, with the dual targets of validation and calibration of GRACE-FO and supporting research into alpine mountain building processes and climate-relevant hydrological studies connected to the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus.

The Helgoland Gravimetric Observatory Germany (HELGOG) was established in March 2020 in the basement of the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH) of the Alfred Wegener Institute AWI, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.