Deep Space Network - General Information

General Information

DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed approximately 120 degrees apart around the Earth. They are:

• the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (35°25′36″N 116°53′24″W / 35.42667°N 116.89°W / 35.42667; -116.89 (Goldstone)) outside of Barstow, California. For details of Goldstone's contribution to the early days of space probe tracking, see Project Space Track;
• the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex (40°25′53″N 4°14′53″W / 40.43139°N 4.24806°W / 40.43139; -4.24806 (Madrid)), 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Madrid, Spain; and
• the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) in the Australian Capital Territory (35°24′05″S 148°58′54″E / 35.40139°S 148.98167°E / -35.40139; 148.98167 (Canberra)), 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Canberra, Australia near the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Each facility is situated in semi-mountainous, bowl-shaped terrain to help shield against radio frequency interference. The strategic 120-degree placement permits constant observation of spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and helps to make the DSN the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world.

The antennas at all three DSN Complexes communicate directly with the Deep Space Operations Center (DSOC) located at the JPL facilities in Pasadena, California. DSOC personnel monitor and direct operations, and oversee the quality of spacecraft telemetry and navigation data delivered to network users. In addition to the DSN complexes and the operations center, a ground communications facility provides communications that link the three complexes to the operations center at JPL, to space flight control centers in the United States and overseas, and to scientists around the world.

The DSN supports NASA's contribution to the scientific investigation of the Solar System: It provides the vital two-way communications link that guides and controls the unmanned interplanetary space probes, and brings back the images and new scientific information these probes collect. All DSN antennas are steerable, high-gain, parabolic reflector antennas. The antennas and data delivery systems make it possible to:

• Acquire telemetry data from spacecraft.
• Transmit commands to spacecraft.
• Upload software modifications to spacecraft.
• Track spacecraft position and velocity.
• Perform Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations.
• Measure variations in radio waves for radio science experiments.
• Gather science data.
• Monitor and control the performance of the network.