 The 34m antennas at Goldstone | |
| Alternative names | Goldstone Observatory |
|---|---|
| Organization | |
| Location | Fort Irwin, California,[1] California |
| Coordinates | 35°25′36″N116°53′24″W / 35.426666666667°N 116.89°W /35.426666666667; -116.89 |
| Altitude | 2,950 ft (900 m) |
| Established | 1958 |
| Website | www |
| Telescopes |
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  Location of Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex | |
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 Related media on Commons | |
Pioneer Deep Space Station | |
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| Location | Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex,Fort Irwin, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°23′21.41″N116°51′22.31″W / 35.3892806°N 116.8561972°W /35.3892806; -116.8561972 |
| Area | 32,411 Acres[1] |
| Built | 1958 (1958) |
| Architect | U.S. Army |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002813 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 3, 1985[2] |
| Designated NHL | October 3, 1985[3] |
TheGoldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called theGoldstone Observatory, is asatellite ground station located inFort Irwin[1] in theU.S. state ofCalifornia. Operated byNASA'sJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its main purpose is to track and communicate withinterplanetary space missions. It is named after Goldstone, California, a nearby gold-miningghost town.[4]
The station is one of three[5] satellite communication stations in theNASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program’s Deep Space Network (DSN), whose mission is to provide the vital two-way communications link that tracks and controlsinterplanetary spacecraft and receives the images and scientific information they collect. The others are theMadrid Deep Space Communications Complex inSpain and theCanberra Deep Space Communication Complex inAustralia. These three stations are located at separations of approximately 120° longitude so that as the Earth rotates a spacecraft will always be in sight of at least one station.[6]
The complex includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station (aka DSS 11), which is a U.S.National Historic Landmark.
Five largeparabolic (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 homesatellite dish. However, since the spacecraft they communicate with are much farther away than thecommunication 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 theVoyager spacecraft, which, at 21.5 billion kilometers, is the most distant manmade object from Earth. The radiofrequencies used for spacecraft communication are in themicrowave part of the radio spectrum;S band (2.29–2.30 GHz),X band (8.40–8.50 GHz) andKa band (31.8–32.3 GHz). In addition to receiving radio signals from the spacecraft (downlink signals), the antennas also transmit commands to the spacecraft (uplink signals) with high powerradio transmitters (80 kW)[7] powered byklystron tubes.
A major goal in the design of the station is to reduce interference with the weak incoming downlink radio signals by natural and manmaderadio noise. The remoteMojave Desert location was chosen because it is far from manmade sources of radio noise such as motor vehicles. TheRF front ends of theradio receivers at the dishes useruby masers, consisting of a bar ofsynthetic ruby cooled byliquid 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 sensitiveradio telescopes for astronomical research, such as mappingquasars and othercelestial radio sources;radar mappingplanets, theMoon,comets andasteroids; spotting comets and asteroids with the potential to strike Earth; and the search for ultra-high energyneutrino interactions in the Moon by using large-apertureradio antennas.[8]
| Photo | Name | Diameter | Date operational | Date decommissioned | Notes | Bands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | DSS-11 "Pioneer" | 26m | 1958 | 1978 | First antenna in Goldstone.[9] | |
| DSS-12 "Echo" | 34m | 1959 | 2012 | Polar-mounted antenna. From 1996 was removed from DSN operations and used for education.[10] | S, X | |
 | DSS-13 "Venus" | 34m | 1962 | In 1962 was opened as 26m antenna, upgraded to 34m beam waveguide in 1991.[10][11] In 2024, it was retrofitted with an optical terminal to track the downlink laser of the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment that is aboard NASA'sPsyche mission.[12] | ||
 | DSS-14 "Mars" | 70m | 1966 | Originally a 64m antenna, upgraded to 70m in 1988 to support Voyager. Cassegrain reflector onaltazimuth mount. ~3850 m² aperture[10] | ||
| DSS-15 "Uranus" | 34m | 1984 | 2018 | "High Efficiency" reflector on altazimuth mount[10] | ||
| DSS-16 "Apollo" | 26m | 1967 | - | X-Y axis antenna, built in 1967 for the Apollo missions. It was a part of the Manned Space Flight Network. The dish is "currently in an extended downtime configuration."[13][14] | ||
 | DSS-23 | 34m | 2026 | BWG reflector under construction[15] | ||
 | DSS-24, DSS-25, DSS-26 "Apollo" | 34m | 1996 | Cluster of three BWG reflectors on altazimuth mounts | ||
_Solar_Patrol_(SVS14530_-_1).jpg) | DSS-27 and DSS-28 "Gemini" | 34m | 1994 | 2010 | Originally built by JPL for the army, in 1994 transferred to NASA. BWA "High Speed" Alt/Az mount. DSS-27 is decommissioned.[10] DSS-28 was upgraded in 2010 with bandwidth radiometer and digital signal processor and is used for radio science underGoldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope program. It is not used for the DSN operations.[10][16] |
The Goldstone complex was created in 1958 by the JPL to support thePioneer program of deep space exploration probes. Its location was determined by two criteria: a bowl-shaped environment was needed, and it needed to be distant from terrestrial sources ofradio interference. This site, on the grounds ofFort Irwin in theMojave Desert, was found to meet the criteria. Construction of the first radio telescope, DSS 11 or the Pioneer Deep Space Station, was begun by theUnited States Army and taken over by NASA after its creation. It is a 26-metre (85 ft) parabolicCassegrain antenna capable of receiving signals in the 1 to 3 GHz range.[17] It was taken out of service in 1981, having been technologically bypassed by later telescopes. It was recognized as aNational Historic Landmark in 1985 for its pioneering role in deep space exploration.[18]
It is commonly believed that the firstAmerican satellite,Explorer 1, was confirmed to be in orbit by the use of the phrase "Goldstone has the bird".[19] 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!",[20] incorrectly identifying "Gold" as a temporary tracking station atEarthquake Valley, east ofJulian, 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.[21] Probably this detection of the Explorer 1 signal was actually made at the Minitrack station at Brown Field, a US Navy airfield near San Diego. This station was later moved to Goldstone, accounting for the error.
The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex has temporarily suspended tours for the public. However, there is a Visitor Center located in Harvey House, 681 North First Avenue,Barstow, CA 92311. Operating hours are Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9AM - 3PM. There is no entry fee and no need to make reservations to stop by the Visitor Center.[22]
The 70m dish also known as Mars or DSS14 is featured in the opening sequences of the 1968 filmIce Station Zebra.
The Goldstone Facility was prominently featured in Part 1 ofThe Incredible Hulk (TV Series) episode, "Prometheus".
A Boy and His Dog (1975 film) used the facility for the industrial looking entrance sequence to the film's world of "Down Under" according to the director's commentary (not without difficulty - the filming crew had a hard time getting access).
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