Revamping the Sky: Goldstone Space Communications Complex Enhances Antenna Capabilities!

The Goldstone Space Communications Complex, part of the Deep Space Network located near Barstow, has recently enhanced one of its large antennas.

On December 18, a crane at the facility successfully positioned a 112-foot-wide steel framework for the reflector dish of Deep Space Station 23, as reported by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Representatives from NASA indicated that the upgraded multi-frequency beam waveguide antenna will increase the facility’s capabilities and strengthen NASA’s deep space communication abilities for many years ahead.

Once operational in 2026, Deep Space Station 23 will be the fifth of six new beam waveguide antennas rolled out to the network, succeeding DSS-53, which was integrated into the Deep Space Network’s Madrid, Spain facility in 2022.

A Deep Space facility also exists in Canberra, Australia, completing the Deep Space Network and providing around-the-clock coverage for spacecraft tracking.

NASA officials stated that the Deep Space Network enables missions to locate, send directives to, and obtain scientific data from distant spacecraft.

Connection with Apple Valley Schools

The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) program, run by the Lewis Center, operates a substantial 34-meter telescope at the Deep Space Communications Complex situated near the Fort Irwin National Training Center, to the north of Barstow.

This facility, located in the Mojave Desert, is under the management of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, under the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program at NASA headquarters.

The isolated site near the former mining town of Goldstone was identified as an ideal location, leading to the construction of the first antenna in 1958.

Over fifty years of exploration in space have resulted in numerous achievements in both robotic and crewed spacecraft, according to officials.

From the initial planetary encounters to the first lunar landing by humans, and missions reaching the farthest boundaries of our solar system, the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex has played a crucial role in returning vital data, images, and scientific information.

To learn more, visit gdscc.nasa.gov.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz can be contacted at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz