5G Technology World

  • 5G Technology and Engineering
  • FAQs
  • Apps
  • Devices
  • IoT
  • RF
  • Radar
  • Wireless Design
  • Learn
    • 5G Videos
    • Ebooks
    • EE Training Days
    • FAQs
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Webinars/Digital Events
  • Handbooks
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
  • Resources
    • Design Guide Library
    • EE World Digital Issues
    • Engineering Diversity & Inclusion
    • Engineering Training Days
    • LEAP Awards
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

A Deep Space Communications Hub In The Desert

By NASA | June 15, 2018

When NASA engineers were looking for a place to build a network of large radio antennas in the 1950s, they knew they needed somewhere quiet. They were going to build a series of antennas with huge parabolic dishes and receivers that could detect extremely faint radio signals.

They settled on a remote stretch of the Mojave Desert near the ghost town of Goldstone and the U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin—an area with no interference from power lines or commercial radio and television transmitters.

The first antenna built at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex was the aptly named Pioneer Station. The 85-foot (26-meter) antenna began receiving data from the Pioneer 3 mission in 1958. The station was mothballed in 1981 after serving several high-profile NASA missions, including Apollo, Mariner, Viking and Voyager. It was declared a National Historic Monument in 1985.

The largest and most sensitive antenna at the Goldstone Complex is at Mars Station. It spans 70 meters (230 feet), stands 24 stories tall, and weighs 7.2 million kilograms (16 million pounds). One of the satellites this antenna is used to communicate with is Voyager 1, a far-roving spacecraft launched in 1977. Voyager 1 is now more than 13 billion miles (21 billion kilometers) from Earth, making it the most distant human-made object in the universe.

Echo Station is the current administrative center for the complex. Built in 1959, the station was named for early experiments performed with the Echo 1 communications balloon. The metallic balloon, known as the world’s first communications satellite, ascended to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), and relayed radio and radar communications between an antenna at Echo Station and a receiving station in New Jersey.

In a departure from the traditional method of naming a station for the first mission supported, Gemini Station is named for the twin stars in the Gemini constellation. The antennas were originally built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Army and were transferred to NASA in 1994. The first mission Gemini supported was the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a cooperative mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Goldstone complex is just one of three facilities in NASA’s Deep Space Network. Similar stations exist in Madrid, Spain and near Canberra, Australia. The strategic placement of the three sites allows for constant communication with spacecraft as Earth rotates.


Filed Under: RF

 

Next Article

← Previous Article
Next Article →

Related Articles Read More >

Butler Matrix
Butler Matrix drives Wi-Fi and other phased-array antennas
Long-wire dipole antennas: still viable after more than a century
RemCom Wireless InSite 4.0
Software simulates RF conditions from the Earth to the Moon
FAQ on the Butler matrix for beamforming: part 2

Featured Contributions

  • Overcome Open RAN test and certification challenges
  • Wireless engineers need AI to build networks
  • Why AI chips need PCIe 7.0 IP interconnects
  • circuit board timing How timing and synchronization improve 5G spectrum efficiency
  • Wi-Fi 7 and 5G for FWA need testing
More Featured Contributions

EE TECH TOOLBOX

“ee
Tech Toolbox: Internet of Things
Explore practical strategies for minimizing attack surfaces, managing memory efficiently, and securing firmware. Download now to ensure your IoT implementations remain secure, efficient, and future-ready.

EE LEARNING CENTER

EE Learning Center
“5g
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for EE professionals.

Engineering Training Days

engineering
“bills
5G Technology World
  • Enews Signup
  • EE World Online
  • DesignFast
  • EDABoard Forums
  • Electro-Tech-Online Forums
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Analogic Tips
  • Connector Tips
  • Engineer’s Garage
  • EV Engineering
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Test and Measurement Tips
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy

Search 5G Technology World