Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

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Goldstone Deep Space Network

Goldstone Deep Space Network
Organization: NASA, JPL, Caltech
Location: Mojave Desert (near Barstow), San Bernardino County, California, USA
Established: Summer 1958
Website: [http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/
Telescopes
DSS 13 - "Venus"*: 34m (~910 m²) reflector with Beam waveguide optics (BWG) on Alt/Az mount
DSS 14 - "Mars": 70m (~3850 m²) reflector on Alt/Az mount
DSS 15 - "Uranus": 34m "High Efficiency" reflector on Alt/Az mount
DSS 24, 25, 26 - "Apollo": 34m reflector with BWG optics on Alt/Az mount
DSS 27, 28 - "Gemini": 34m reflector with BWG optics on "High Speed" Alt/Az mount

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) —commonly called the Goldstone Observatory— is located in California's Mojave Desert (USA). Operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. The observatory is part of NASA's Deep Space Network. The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex is just one of three in the world; the others being the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

Contents

Goldstone antennas have also been used as sensitive radio telescopes for such scientific investigations as: mapping quasars and other celestial radio sources; radar mapping planets, the Moon, comets and asteroids; spotting comets and asteroids with the potential to impact earth; and the search for ultra-high energy neutrino interactions in the moon by using large-aperture radio antennas. [1]

70m antenna
70m antenna

It is commonly believed that the first US satellite, Explorer I, was confirmed to be in orbit by the use of the phrase "Goldstone has the bird". However, Goldstone was not in operation at the time of Explorer I, and that phrase probably referred to an early Pioneer program spacecraft.[1]



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