The French Space Agency, CNES, has been operating an S-band Ground Stations Network (GSN) for almost 30 years. This network is a multi-mission asset that provides Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) services to French and Multinational governmental satellites (currently 12 in flight) in Launch and EarlyOrbit Phase (LEOP), in mission phase and in the End Of Life operations (EOL). On occasions, the spare capacity of the network is used to provide equivalent services to other satellite or network operators in the frame of cross supports or commercial agreements. Considering that this network needed an overall refurbishment in order to deal with the mid-and long-term perspective of its mission model, the management of CNES had decided in 2011 to run a program, named « CORMORAN », aiming to renew the eldest TT&C stations, to expand services to data reception (in X-band) and to improve the global interoperability and automation. During the SpaceOps 2012 Conference, a global presentation of the "CORMORAN project" had been given , showing how each of its segments would contribute to the high level objectives assigned to the project: -Technical evolutions due to new mission requirements (e.g.: additional X-Band services) -Answers to the obsolescence of the eldest systems (e.g.:replacement of the old antennas in Aussaguel, Kourou and Hartebeeshoek) -Enhancement of the Network capability (e.g.: increased automation in Network operations) -Costs reductions (e.g.: benefits of the implementation of COTS). After a quick recall of the "CORMORAN" framework, this paper will focus on performances and new features (e.g.: automated maintenance procedures) of the new S+X station set in Kourou (French Guyana) and developed by Zodiac Data Systems. Its innovative features will be pointed out, e.g. the improved reliability with automated switching between redundant cryogenic LNA's, the wrong target avoidance software to cope with the risks of X-band interferences, or the continuous update of the ephemeris tables to cope with spacecraft orbit disturbances (case of on-board automated orbit control). The paper will demonstrate how all these characteristics address the high level objectives mentioned here above. Finally, the paper will conclude with some outstanding lessons learned from the qualification phase and the first year in operations of this station in view of the upcoming implementation of two recurrent stations (in Hartebeeshoek, South Africa and in Aussaguel, nearby Toulouse, France).