The Big Dish
This is Deep Space Station 43, a key part of America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Deep Space Network and is located at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. Opened in 1965, the complex was used for tracking the Apollo Lunar Module. It is part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) on their behalf.
Built in 1969-72 with a 64m-diameter dish, it was upgraded in 1987 to 70m in time to support the Voyager spacecraft's encounter with Neptune in 1989.
As of 2009 it is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere. In recent years it has monitored data from the 1997 Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover, the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyessy probes, and the continuing Voyager 1 and 2 missions (now just about outside the Solar System). The 4,000 tonne dish can be moved with a precision of 0.005 of a degree in azimuth or elevation.
The Big Dish
This is Deep Space Station 43, a key part of America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Deep Space Network and is located at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. Opened in 1965, the complex was used for tracking the Apollo Lunar Module. It is part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) on their behalf.
Built in 1969-72 with a 64m-diameter dish, it was upgraded in 1987 to 70m in time to support the Voyager spacecraft's encounter with Neptune in 1989.
As of 2009 it is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere. In recent years it has monitored data from the 1997 Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover, the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyessy probes, and the continuing Voyager 1 and 2 missions (now just about outside the Solar System). The 4,000 tonne dish can be moved with a precision of 0.005 of a degree in azimuth or elevation.