NASA’s Deep Space Network Antenna Shines Bright in Its Grand Debut

The installation of the 133-ton reflector dish for Deep Space Station 23 was recently completed, representing a significant advancement in enhancing NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Nasa’s Deep Space Network, a system of massive radio antennas, enables the agency’s missions to monitor, send commands to, and gather scientific information from spacecraft exploring the moon and beyond. NASA is incorporating a new antenna, which will increase the total to 15, in order to accommodate the rising demand for the planet’s largest and most advanced radio frequency communication system.

The latest antenna’s installation occurred on Dec. 18, when teams at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, installed the metal reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23, a multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna.

Set to be operational in 2026, Deep Space Station 23 will receive signals from missions such as Perseverance, Psyche, Europa Clipper, Voyager 1, and an expanding fleet of upcoming human and robotic spacecraft in deep space.

“This enhancement to the Deep Space Network signifies a vital upgrade in communications for the agency,” remarked Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program.

“The communications framework has been consistently active since its inception in 1963, and with this enhancement, we are ensuring NASA is prepared to support the increasing number of missions investigating the moon, Mars, and beyond.”

Construction on the new antenna has been in progress for over four years. During the installation, teams utilized a crawler crane to lower the 133-ton metal framework of the 112-foot-wide (34-meter-wide) parabolic reflector prior to securing it to a 65-foot-high (20-meter-high) alidade—a platform above the antenna’s pedestal that will guide the reflector during its operation.

“One of the primary challenges during the lift was to ensure that 40 bolt-holes were accurately aligned between the structure and alidade,” stated Germaine Aziz, systems engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Program in Southern California.

“This required a careful focus on alignment prior to the lift, ensuring everything proceeded seamlessly on the day.”

After the primary lift, engineers executed a lighter lift to place a quadripod, a four-legged support structure weighing 16.5 tons, at the center of the upward-facing reflector. The quadripod is equipped with a curved subreflector that will channel radio frequency signals from deep space—bouncing off the main reflector—into the antenna’s pedestal, where the antenna’s receivers are situated.

Engineers will now proceed to attach panels to the steel framework, forming a curved surface to direct radio frequency signals. Upon completion, Deep Space Station 23 will become the fifth of six new beam-waveguide antennas to join the network, following Deep Space Station 53, which was integrated into the Deep Space Network’s Madrid complex in 2022.

“Thanks to the Deep Space Network, we can explore the Martian terrain with our rovers, observe the astonishing cosmic discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope, among other remarkable achievements,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL.

“The network supports over 40 deep space missions, including the farthest human-made entities in the universe, Voyager 1 and 2. With upgrades like these, the network will persist in aiding humanity’s exploration of our solar system and beyond, facilitating groundbreaking research and discoveries well into the future.”

NASA’s Deep Space Network is overseen by JPL, under the direction of NASA’s SCaN Program. Over 100 NASA and non-NASA missions depend on the Deep Space Network and Near Space Network, which includes support for astronauts aboard the International Space Station and forthcoming Artemis missions, observing Earth’s climate and weather changes, aiding lunar exploration, and unveiling the secrets of the solar system and beyond.