Improving the Conversation: NASA Begins Upgrade to Deep Space Network

This image of the Canberra complex shows four Deep Space Network antennas. The Deep Space Network is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Image credit: NASA/JPL/CDSCC

All the robotic missions to various points in our solar system wouldn't be possible if not for the Deep Space Network. It's not just sending commands and receiving data, but also orbit determination, or keeping track of where the spacecraft are with radiometric tracking data so that spacecraft navigators can get probes exactly where the scientists want them to go. The three 70-meter antennas, located at the DSN complexes at Goldstone, California, Madrid, Spain, and Canberra, Australia are more than 40 years old and show wear and tear from constant use, while new and improved technology and antennas now available would improve operations. NASA announced this week they will begin to replace its aging fleet of dishes with a new generation of 34-meter (112-foot) antennas by 2025.

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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/2010/02/26/improving-the-conversation-nasa-begins-upgrade-to-deep-space-network/