Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
Organization National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Code 252, 253, 257
Location Mojave Desert, United States of America
Coordinates 35°25′36″N 116°53′24″W / 35.426666666667°N 116.89°W / 35.426666666667; -116.89Coordinates: 35°25′36″N 116°53′24″W / 35.426666666667°N 116.89°W / 35.426666666667; -116.89
Altitude 2,950 ft (2,950 ft)
Established 1958
Website www.gdscc.nasa.gov
Related media on Wikimedia Commons
Pioneer Deep Space Station

Pioneer Deep Space Station
Location Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, Fort Irwin, California, United States
Coordinates 35°23′21.41″N 116°51′22.31″W / 35.3892806°N 116.8561972°W / 35.3892806; -116.8561972
Area less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1958
Architect U.S. Army
NRHP Reference # 85002813
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 3, 1985[1]
Designated NHL October 3, 1985[2]

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called the Goldstone Observatory, is located in the Mojave Desert near Barstow in the U.S. state of California. Operated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. It is named after Goldstone, California, a nearby gold-mining ghost town.[3]

The complex includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station, which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The current communications complex is one of three[4] in the NASA Deep Space Network, the others being the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

Antennas

Five large parabolic ("dish") antennas are located at the Goldstone site to handle the workload, since at any given time the DSN is responsible for maintaining communication with up to 30 spacecraft. The antennas function similarly to a home satellite dish. However, since the spacecraft they communicate with are much further away than the communication satellites which home satellite dishes use, the signals received are much weaker, requiring a larger aperture antenna to gather enough radio energy to make them intelligible. The largest, a 70-meter (230 ft) Cassegrain antenna, is used for communication with space missions to the outer planets, such as the Voyager spacecraft, at 20 billion kilometers the most distant manmade object from Earth. The radio frequencies used for spacecraft communication are in the microwave part of the radio spectrum; S band (2.29 - 2.30 GHz), X band (8.40 - 8.50 GHz) and the Ku band (31.8 - 32.3 GHz). In addition to receiving radio signals from the spacecraft (called downlink signals), the antennas transmit commands to the spacecraft (called uplink signals) with high power radio transmitters powered by klystron tubes.

A major goal in the design of the station is to reduce interference with the weak incoming downlink radio signals by natural and manmade radio noise. The remote Mojave Desert location was chosen because it is far from manmade sources of radio noise such as motor vehicles. The RF front ends of the radio receivers at the dishes use ruby masers, consisting of a bar of synthetic ruby cooled by liquid helium to 4.5 K to minimize the noise introduced by the electronics.

When not needed for spacecraft communication, the Goldstone antennas are used as sensitive radio telescopes for astronomical research, such as mapping quasars and other celestial radio sources; radar mapping planets, the Moon, comets and asteroids; spotting comets and asteroids with the potential to strike Earth; and the search for ultra-high energy neutrino interactions in the Moon by using large-aperture radio antennas.[5]

Antennas at Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
Name Diameter Description
DSS 13 - "Venus" 34m Beam waveguide antenna (BWG) on altazimuth mount, located in Venus, California. ~910 mm² aperture.
DSS 14 - "Mars" 70m Cassegrain reflector on Alt/Az mount. ~3850 m² aperture.
DSS 15 - "Uranus" 34m "High Efficiency" reflector on Alt/Az mount
DSS 24, 25, 26 - "Apollo" 34 m BWG reflector on Alt/Az mount
DSS 27, 28 - "Gemini" 34 m BWG reflector on "High Speed" Alt/Az mount

"Goldstone has the bird"

It is commonly believed that the first American satellite, Explorer 1, was confirmed to be in orbit by the use of the phrase "Goldstone has the bird".[6] However, Goldstone was not in operation at the time of Explorer 1, and like many oft-repeated quotations it is incorrect. Others claim that the actual phrase was "Gold has it!",[7] incorrectly identifying "Gold" as a temporary tracking station at Earthquake Valley, east of Julian, California. In fact, Gold Station was located at the Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC) in Florida and the temporary tracking station at Earthquake Valley was Red Station.[8]

Complex tours

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex conducts tours of its facility and museum to middle and high schools, as well as individuals interested in visiting.

The DSS 14, "Mars" telescope is specifically quoted in the webcomic Wondermark, episode 881 "In which a Standard is Questioned".[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Apollo Deep Space Station". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  3. ↑ Goldstone gold mining
  4. ↑ GDSCC Overview
  5. ↑ "A Search for Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Interactions in the Moon Using Large-Aperture Radio Antennas". University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  6. ↑ Medaris, John B. (1960). Countdown for Decision. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons. ISBN 978-1124155661.
  7. ↑ The First Explorer Satellites lecture by George H. Luwig, 9 Oct 2004
  8. ↑ Juno I: Re-entry Test Vehicles and Explorer Satellites, p.56
  9. ↑ David Malki (c). Wondermark. (). October 23rd, 2012, .
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