Kongsfjord Telemetry Station (Norwegian: Kongsfjord telemetristasjon) was a satellite ground station located nearby Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway. It was used between 1967 and 1974 as one of the four initial ground stations which were part of the European Space Tracking Network (ESTRACK) serving the European Space Research Organization's (ESRO) first generation of satellites. The station provided radio tracking, telemetry and commanding services as well as data download. Although owned by ESRO, the facilities were constructed and operated by the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (NTNF).

Plans for the station's construction started in the early 1960s and negotiations between ESRO and Norwegian authorities started in 1964, despite Norway's lack of membership in ESRO. An initial disagreement of whether to locate the facility by Ny-Ålesund or Longyearbyen was overcome, and an agreement was signed on 14 December 1964. However, it was followed up by numerous protests from the Soviet Union, which claimed the installation would violate the demilitarized zone clause of the Svalbard Treaty, as the station had the potential to be used for military satellites and intelligence. The protests were rejected by Norwegian authorities, and construction started in May 1965. The Soviet Union attempted several inspections; one resulted in the crash of a Soviet helicopter. Operations commenced in 1967, but the facility was closed in 1974 as the facility was not suitable for new satellites with higher orbits.

The first official inquiries into establishing ionosphere research in Svalbard was taken by Leiv Harang, then head of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), in October 1950. Two similar facilities, a completed one at Kjeller and one under construction in Tromsø, had already been initiated. The proposal, regarded by Harang as primarily a military project, was initially issued to the United States. It was considered by US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who saw it as a possible excuse to populate Spitsbergen as a counter-measure to the Soviet mining communities. However, nothing came of the plans before the International Geophysical Year in 1957–58, when an ionosphere research station was established as Isfjord Radio and moved to Ny-Ålesund in 1963. Although unrelated to the telemetry station, this was the initiation of technology services in Ny-Ålesund.

In 1960, Norway entered a cooperation with the United States, which resulted in the construction of the Norwegian Space Centre at Andøya. In 1964, ESRO was established as a Western European reaction to the rapidly developing Soviet and American space programs. Norway chose to only join as an observer, partially because of the close cooperation with the US and partially because of the cost. However, Norwegian space research scientists participated in ESRO programs.

Preliminary work in the planning of ESRO operations concluded that the ESTRACK network would initially consist of four radio tracking and telemetry stations and three optical tracking stations. In addition to Svalbard, tracking and telemetry stations were built on the Falkland Islands, in Fairbanks, Alaska and in Redu, Belgium. France actively opposed the Svalbard location, as Norway was not a member of ESRO. The ESRO secretariat wanted to quicken the location decision, as it was necessary to have all four in operation before the launch of the ESRO-1 and ESRO-2 satellites.

The initial proposal had called for locating the station in Ny-Ålesund due to its topographical advantage. In January 1964, ESRO started informal discussions with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that they had no initial objections. By then, supported by Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, ESRO instead proposed situating the station at Longyearbyen because it was less remote and would incur lower costs. This was opposed by Norwegian authorities; mining in Ny-Ålesund had ceased after the 1963 Kings Bay Affair and the authorities wanted permanent activity in the town. An official request was made by ESRO in February, and in May, official political support for the project was awarded. The main motivation was to establish a permanent space technology center in Norway that could stimulate further scientific growth.

The Svalbard Treaty establishes Svalbard as both a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone, allowing a Soviet presence but hindering Norway from installing military fortifications. The Soviet Union objected to the creation of the telemetry program and threatened to establish a counter-station. The basis was that the ground station was seen as having a military potential, that most ESRO members were also members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and that Norway lacked sufficient competence to control whether or not military activities would take place at the station. Norwegian authorities responded that the installation was to be used for scientific and peaceful activities under Norwegian control. Further, because of treaty only prohibited fortifications and not military activity as such, Norway held the right to conduct military scientific research and operate intelligence operations on the archipelago.

To minimize Soviet opposition, Norway attempted to move the debate from the political to the specialist scene, while at the same time establishing a protocol for Norwegian control and operation of the facility. To achieve this, Norwegian authorities worked towards establishing an inspection procedure to insure that the facilities remained solely used for 'peaceful activities'. This would particularly focus on the regular inspection of auxiliary equipment. To depoliticize the issue further, the government appointed the semi-independent NTNF as the operator of the facility. The first oral consultations between the Soviet embassy and the Norwegian government took place in November 1964.