Space Communications Antenna Supported Early NASA
Missions
This 26 meter (85 foot) antenna operated in Woomera (Island Lagoon),
Australia at Deep Space Station (DSS) 41, established in August 1960. The Island
Lagoon site was the first deep space station to be established outside the
United States and the first Australian antenna NASA built. The station was
operated by the Australian Department of Supply and helped support the Ranger
and early Mariner missions, as well as communications from the Deep Space
Network (DSN) complex in Goldstone, California via a moon bounce. Woomera’s
antenna ceased operations in 1972.
Today, the Deep Space Network -- consisting of three sites in Goldstone,
California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia -- supports space
communications for NASA and non-NASA missions that explore the furthest points
of our solar system. Each complex currently has a 70 meter (230 foot) antenna,
one 34 meter (111 foot) High Efficiency (HEF) antenna, and one or more 34 meter
Beam Wave Guide (BWG) antenna. The Deep Space Network is operated 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, 365 days per year. To support future mission needs,
construction is currently underway in Canberra, Australia to add two new 34
meter BWG antennas, Deep Space Station 35 (DSS-35) and DSS-36 by 2018.
Image Credit: NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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