View allAll Photos Tagged DeepSpaceNetwork
On 5 May 2018, ESA's 35 m-diameter deep-space radio dish at New Norcia, Western Australia, monitored NASA’s InSight spacecraft providing critical tracking support during launch and early operations on its journey to Mars.
ESA’s New Norcia station maintained contact with InSight and its two MarCOs CubeSats as backup to NASA’s own Deep Space Network ground station at Canberra, on the easterly side of the continent.
“NASA requested our support because, at this time of year, the southern hemisphere has very good visibility of the trajectory to Mars,” explained Daniel Firre, the Agency’s ESA-NASA cross-support service manager.
“This meant our Australia station was ideally located to provide back-up support to their DSN station at Canberra.”
New Norcia will also be involved in monitoring Insight’s Mars touchdown on 26 November.
ESA’s deep-space station at Malargüe, Argentina, also in the southern hemisphere, worked in coordination with New Norcia to provide additional tracking coverage on launch day.
Since inauguration in March 2003, New Norcia station has been used for communications with Mars Express, Rosetta, Venus Express and Gaia, among other ESA and partner agency missions.
More information:
Credits: Courtesy of David Nicolson
Operations image of the week:
May and early June were busy months for NASA’s Cassini orbiter, as a series of complex link-ups with ESA and NASA stations supported ‘radio science’ as part of the mission’s Grand Finale.
In radio science, specialists analyse the signals transmitted by Cassini to Earth to extract important information on how gravity affects the craft’s motion or how matter through which the signals travel affects them.
Cassini is focusing on probing Saturn’s interior by mapping the planet’s gravity to an unprecedented level of detail, and determining the rings’ total mass to help understand how they formed.
This striking image was taken by Cassini’s two cameras. It is possible to see the outer edge of the Encke Gap in the outer portion of Saturn’s A ring. The uneven patterns in the ringlet appear and disappear through the gravitational influence of moon Pan, orbiting in the gap.
Cassini is providing insight into how and when the rings formed, as well as their relation with Saturn and its moons. The team working on these new fundamental measurements is all European.
The observations require a meticulous sequence of contacts with ground stations, making use of five NASA Deep Space Network antennas plus ESA’s Deep Space Antennas at Malargüe, Argentina, and New Norcia Australia. Some of these link-ups with Cassini will run for over eight hours.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Deep Space Station 23’s 133-ton reflector dish was recently installed, marking a key step in strengthening NASA’s Deep Space Network.
NASA’s Deep Space Network, an array of giant radio antennas, allows agency missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the Moon and beyond. NASA is adding a new antenna, bringing the total to 15, to support increased demand for the world’s largest and most sensitive radio frequency telecommunication system.
Installation of the latest antenna took place on Dec. 18, when teams at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, installed the metal reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23, a multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna. When operational in 2026, Deep Space Station 23 will receive transmissions from missions such as Perseverance, Psyche, Europa Clipper, Voyager 1, and a growing fleet of future human and robotic spacecraft in deep space.
In this image, a crane lowers the steel reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23 into position Dec. 18 on a 65-foot-high (20-meter) platform above the antenna’s pedestal that will steer the reflector. Panels will be affixed to the structure create a curved surface to collect radio frequency signals.
Credit: NASA
#NASAMarshall #NASA #NASAJPL #DeepSpaceNetwork
A crane lowers the 112-foot-wide (34-meter-wide) steel framework for the Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23) reflector dish into position on Dec. 18, 2024, at the Deep Space Network’s (DSN) Goldstone Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California. Once online in 2026, DSS-23 will be the fifth of six new beam waveguide antennas to be added to the network; DSS-23 will boost the DSN’s capacity and enhance NASA’s deep space communications capabilities for decades to come.
The DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on the DSN and Near Space Network, including supporting astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, supporting lunar exploration, and uncovering the solar system and beyond.
Credit: NASA
#NASA #NASAJPL #NASAMarshall #space #DeepSpaceNetwork
Watch a time-lapse video of construction activities on Dec. 18.
This April 20, 2024, image shows a first: all six radio frequency antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), carried out a test to receive data from the agency’s Voyager 1 spacecraft at the same time.
Combining the antennas’ receiving power, or arraying, lets the DSN collect the very faint signals from faraway spacecraft. Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away, so its signal on Earth is far fainter than any other spacecraft with which the DSN communicates. It currently takes Voyager 1’s signal over 22 ½ hours to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. To better receive Voyager 1’s radio communications, a large antenna – or an array of multiple smaller antennas – can be used. A five-antenna array is currently needed to downlink science data from the spacecraft’s Plasma Wave System (PWS) instrument. As Voyager gets further way, six antennas will be needed.
Credit: MDSCC/INTA, Francisco “Paco” Moreno
#NASAMarshall #NASA #Voyager #DSN #DeepSpaceNetwork
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft passed its six-month checkup with a clean bill of health, and there’s no holding back now. Navigators are firing its futuristic-looking electric thrusters, which emit a blue glow, nearly nonstop as the orbiter zips farther into deep space. The spacecraft already is beyond the distance of Mars and is using ion propulsion to accelerate toward a metal-rich asteroid, where it will orbit and collect science data. This photo captures an operating electric thruster identical to those being used to propel NASA’s Psyche spacecraft. The blue glow comes from the charged atoms, or ions, of xenon.
The spacecraft launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on Oct. 13, 2023. After leaving our atmosphere, Psyche made the most of its rocket boost and coasted beyond the orbit of Mars.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
#SolarSystemandBeyond #NASAJPL #NASAMarshall #jpl #psyche #asteroid #Psyche #DSN #TDM
Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN's hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC, aboard NASA's Psyche mission.
An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA's Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it's possible for the giant dish antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which communicate with spacecraft via radio waves, to be retrofitted for optical, or laser, communications.
By packing more data into transmissions, optical communication will enable new space exploration capabilities while supporting the DSN as demand on the network grows.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
#SolarSystemandBeyond #NASAJPL #NASAMarshall #jpl #psyche #asteroid #Psyche #DSN #TDM
More about NASA’s optical communications projects
The southern hemisphere's largest sterrable radio antenna: DSS-43 at Tidbindilla's Deep Space Communication Complex. DSS-43 is a 70 metre dish primarily used for tracking spacecraft.
Transformed in Photoshop using Flexify 2 with a stereographic projection.
Three 34m (110 ft.) diameter Beam Waveguide antennas located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, situated in the Mojave Desert in California. This is one of three complexes which comprise NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN provides radio communications for all of NASA's interplanetary spacecraft and is also utilized for radio astronomy and radar observations of the solar system and the universe.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Image Number: JPL-28311
Date: Circa 1990
This antenna was originally known as DSK. It was built in 1965 and located at the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in the Australian Capital Territory. Its role was to support the Apollo missions, beginning with Apollo 7 in October 1968. On 21 July 1969 (Australian time) this antenna received and relayed to the world the famous television images of Neil Armstrong's historic first steps on the Moon.
Following the end of the Apollo and Skylab programmes, the station was converted for use in NASA's Deep Space Network, with the antenna given the new designation DSS-44. In this role, the antenna supported many missions, including those to Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun, until the closure of the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in December 1981.
In 1983 the antenna was moved to its current location at Tidbinbilla, re-designated DSS-46 and modified to expand its capabilities for early launch acquisition (tracking a spacecraft after it has launched from Earth). The design and small dish size allowed it to move rapidly, making it ideal for tracking those deep-space spacecraft as they orbited and then departed the Earth. In this function, the antenna supported NASA and international missions studying the Sun, Earth, Moon and the planets in our Solar System until its retirement from deep space service in December 2009, shortly after I took this image. In May 2010 the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics declared the antenna a Historical Aerospace Site, and as such it remains in place.
In this parked configuration, the antenna reaches a height of 35m. The dish is 26m in diameter. The small antennas on the sides are acquisition aids used to help receive the signals of fast-moving spacecraft travelling in low Earth orbit.
A dramatised version of the real events concerning antenna support of Neil Armstrong's first steps featured in the Australian film 'The Dish' in 2000.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert" set
(#11 of 16 images)
Each DSN facility Goldstone, Canberra and Madrid, 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. Images of DS operations center can be found in my Flickr photostream and set "NASA/JPL Open House Highlights 2010" and the following images : www.flickr.com/photos/10455329@N08/4618188144/in/set-7215...
www.flickr.com/photos/10455329@N08/4617571907/in/set-7215... www.flickr.com/photos/10455329@N08/4618179128/in/set-7215...
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.
This is a single RAW image taken with a Nikon d90 camera and Tamron 10-24 lens (3.5-4.5) .Focal length 19mm. Exposed 1/400 of a second @f11. ISO 200 0 EV. Processed in Adobe Camera RAW, Adobe Photoshop CS4 and tone mapped with Dynamic - Photo HDR 4. Uploaded in Picnik.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
View of Canberra 70m (230 ft.) antenna with flags from the three Deep Space Network sites. The Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, located outside Canberra, Australia, is one of the three complexes which comprise NASA's Deep Space Network. The other complexes are located in Goldstone, California, and Madrid, Spain.
The Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43) Antenna at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex; DSS-43 is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is a ground station that is located in Australia at Tidbinbilla in the Paddys River valley, about 20 km from Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. The complex is part of the Deep Space Network run by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It is commonly referred to as the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Tracking Station. The station is separated from Canberra by the Murrumbidgee River, but most notably by the Coolamon Ridge and Urambi Hills, but mainly by Bullen Range, that help shield the city's radio frequency (RF) noise from the dishes. Located nearby is the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. The CSIRO manages most of NASA's activities in Australia. The complex is one of just three in the world. As of mid-2010 the Station has three large antennas in use: DSS-34, DSS-43, and DSS-45. DSS-43 is a 70 m dish originally constructed as a 64 m in 1973 and enlarged in 1987. It is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere. The antenna weighs more than 3000 tonnes and rotates on a film of oil approximately 0.17mm thick. The reflector surface is made up of 1,272 aluminium panels with a total surface area of 4180 square metres.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra_Deep_Space_Communication_C...
When it opened in March 1965, the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Instrumentation Facility 42 (DSIF42), now known as the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) was built specifically to support inter-planetary spacecraft exploring the Solar System.
The three dishes visible above are, from the left, Deep Space Station (DSS) 45, 43 and 46 (although now in 2025 I can see four dishes!). The latter, a 26m dish, was originally located at Honeysuckle Creek (20 km to the south), where it was the relay station through which the television pictures of Neil Armstrong's historic first steps passed to a worldwide audience. It was moved here in 1983 and was retired in 2009.
DSS 45, a 34m dish, was built to support Voyager 2's encounter with Uranus in early 1986. It was retired in 2016.
DSS 43, a 70m dish, supported Voyager 2's 1989 encounter with Neptune. It remains the largest steerable antenna in the southern hemisphere. It weighs 3,000 tonnes and the surface area of the dish is over one acre (old school) or 4,180 sq m.
Modernisation and development of the site continues. There are at least three other large (34m+) dishes on the site, which is at Tidbinbilla, some 35 km south of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In addition to being an integral part of NASA's Deep Space Network, the dishes participate in multiple fields of scientific research including interferometry, very-long-baseline interferometry, radio science, radio and radar astronomy, Earth dynamics and sky surveys.
NASA Goldstone site, on an inholding in Fort Irwin, California. Was there with a university group; tours are available to the public, but only by reservation. This is one of three big ears worldwide (the others are in Madrid & Canberra) that pull in the signal from interplanetary probes like Voyager 1, which, as of Nov 2017, is 140 a.u. distant & transmitting at 23 watts. The bit rate is 159 bps.
For the coolest website EVER, click on over to eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html. You can see in real time which probe is sending to and/or receiving from this dish, along with each of the other 13 Deep Space Network receivers. The site is interactive, with all sorts of goodies -- click on the probe abbreviation & it will give more details. At the moment it tells me that the dish is being used for ground-based radio astronomy -- it's available for science when not being used for communications.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert" set (1 of 16 images)
Deep space communications are a challenge due to the enormous distances between the spacecraft and the Earth. Signals must travel millions or even billions of miles (km). Because the communications on a craft in deep space must be small, compact and light weight, they transmit at very low power, typically 20 watts or less about the same as a low-energy lightbulb. When the signal arrives at the antenna it can be as weak as a billionth of a watt- 20 billion times less energy than it takes to run a digital wristwatch.
To 'hear' the whisper of a signal sent from planetary distances in space (downlink) the receivers must be very large and equipped with extraordinarily sensitive receivers. Large collectors (antenna dishes) with surfaces that are precisely curved are crucial and must be pointed at the spacecraft.
Typically these antenna are built in arrays of multiple dishes such as the large array near Sirrocco New Mexico ( photographed by Pete Turner for Harper's Magazine and featured in the Jodie Foster movie 'Contact') or those at Goldstone, California, near Canberra Australia and near Madrid Spain.
The antennae at Goldstone or Canberra were the first (there's a difference of opinion on which was first) to receive signals when John Glenn reentered the Earth's atmosphere in the early 1960's.
The DSS-14 Mars Antenna at Goldstone measures 70 meters across its diameter (230 feet +/-) and it, along with similar antennae at Canberra and Madrid, are the largest parabolic radio telescope dishes ever constructed.
I admit to having been a 'space nut' for most of my adult life and I have wanted to visit the Goldstone complex for as long as I can remember. On a recent visit to JPL's Open House, I learned that tours are given to the public so I signed up and drove the 191 miles (one-way) between my home and Goldstone to take this tour. The tour lasted about two hours; total time to drive from my home and Goldstone round-trip was two hours and 45 minutes. That time does not include driving that was done during the tour (self driven following a guide car) between sites on the Goldstone reservation where antennas are located. I estimate that to have been an additional 25 to 30 miles. So by the end of the day I had driven 400 plus miles to accomplish my goal.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
This is the Ground Station Weilheim and the 30m Deep Space Antenna, operated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt --> Geman Aerospace Center). DLR Space Operations is the central institution for spaceflight operations in Germany.
The Weilheim Ground Station Complex consists of several spacecraft tracking stations. In compliance with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the Weilheim station complex is classified as both, a Deep Space Network (Category B), and a Non Deep Space Network (Near Earth Network, Category A).
There are some 4,5m, 9m, 11m, two 15m and one 30m antennas concentrated in this area.
Find here more information about this Ground Station Complex.
===
Die Bodenstation Weilheim des Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) liegt im Ortsteil Lichtenau der Stadt Weilheim in Oberbayern. Sie ist Teil der DLR Organisationseinheit (OE) Kommunikation & Bodenstationen (KB) des German Space Operations Center. Diese stellt neben den Bodenstationen auch das Kommunikationsnetz sowie die erforderlichen Datenverarbeitungsanlagen für bemannte und unbemannte Raumfahrtmission bereit. Die Bodenstationen unterstützen Projekte durch die Lieferung von Telemetrie-, Kommando- und Bahnverfolgungsdaten für stationäre und umlaufende Satelliten und Raumsonden.
Hier ist die 30-m-Deep-Space-Antenne zu sehen.
Mehr Informationen im DLR-Portal Weilheim.
“America’s Bicentennial emblem, stored for more than a year on Viking Orbiter 1’s tape recorder and carried from Earth to Mars, was transmitted back to Earth today over a distance of more than 203 million miles. The picture was taken June 12, 1975, by one of the Orbiter’s two TV cameras during pre-launch test activities at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Viking 1 was launched August 20, 1975, and went into orbit around Mars on June 19, 1976. The red, white and blue star symbol of the United States’ two centuries as a nation was recorded three time--through red, green and violet filters. All three frames were played back to Earth and have been reconstructed into the color picture. They were received at the Deep Space Network station at Canberra, Australia, and relayed to the Viking Mission Control and Computing Center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. The Bicentennial emblem will be carried to the surface of Mars on the body of the Viking Lander on July 17. The Viking Project is managed by the NASA Langley Research Center of Hampton, Virginia. The Orbiter was designed and built by JPL.”
This diagram illustrates the possible interior of Saturn's moon Enceladus based on a gravity investigation by NASA's Cassini spacecraft and NASA's Deep Space Network, reported in April 2014. The gravity measurements suggest an ice outer shell and a low density, rocky core with a regional water ocean sandwiched in between at high southern latitudes. Views from Cassini's imaging science subsystem were used to depict the surface geology of Enceladus and the plume of water jets gushing from fractures near the moon's south pole. Enceladus is 313 miles (504 kilometers) in diameter.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert set (#2 of 16 images)
Almost close enough to touch and showing details of the transmitter/reciever on the dish. Nikon d90 Tamron 18-270 lens. Hand held. Focal length 35mm 1/320 of a second @f9 ISO 200.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
This is the Ground Station Weilheim and the 30m Deep Space Antenna, operated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt --> Geman Aerospace Center). DLR Space Operations is the central institution for spaceflight operations in Germany.
The Weilheim Ground Station Complex consists of several spacecraft tracking stations. In compliance with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the Weilheim station complex is classified as both, a Deep Space Network (Category B), and a Non Deep Space Network (Near Earth Network, Category A).
There are some 4,5m, 9m, 11m, two 15m and one 30m antennas concentrated in this area.
Find here more information about this Ground Station Complex.
===
Die Bodenstation Weilheim des Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) liegt im Ortsteil Lichtenau der Stadt Weilheim in Oberbayern. Sie ist Teil der DLR Organisationseinheit (OE) Kommunikation & Bodenstationen (KB) des German Space Operations Center. Diese stellt neben den Bodenstationen auch das Kommunikationsnetz sowie die erforderlichen Datenverarbeitungsanlagen für bemannte und unbemannte Raumfahrtmission bereit. Die Bodenstationen unterstützen Projekte durch die Lieferung von Telemetrie-, Kommando- und Bahnverfolgungsdaten für stationäre und umlaufende Satelliten und Raumsonden.
Hier ist die 30-m-Deep-Space-Antenne zu sehen.
Mehr Informationen im DLR-Portal Weilheim.
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.
Please ignore flickr's malformed representation above and click to view the full size image.
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
Please enjoy the full size animated image.
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
In this enhancement, you may detect a ghost image - a white line ¼ way up from the bottom which is divided left and right to the top. Those are the first thumbnails transmitted from the Hazard-Avoidance Cameras fore and aft. They are the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT). It was taken through a "fisheye" wide-angle lens on one of the rover's front left Hazard-Avoidance cameras at one-quarter of full resolution. The clear dust cover on the camera is still on in this view, and dust can be seen around its edge, along with three cover fasteners. The rover's shadow is visible in the foreground.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
Please enjoy the full size animated image.
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
The immense 70 meter antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California's Mojave Desert. At this moment it was talking with the STEREO B spacecraft in deep space. This dish also communicates with the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which in the past five minutes has traveled more than 3,100 miles.
Visit Goldstone: www.ridingwithrobots.org/2012/11/goldstone/
Please enjoy the full size animated image.
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
Please enjoy the full size animated image.
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
Four rooms and a hall
Deep Space Operations facility at Jet Propulsion Laboratory integrates several functions during critical mission phases.
Some are vigilant around the clock.
Some are workaday.
Some, like the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover team, are accommodated for critical mission periods.
Our view is from the fourth room - a glass enclosed public viewing area above the others.
Below is the Deep Space Operations stations and consoles support the workaday teams which monitor all active missions and data collection. Soft blue LEDs illuminate each workstation. Above are three projection screens which can display networked pages relevant to the task at hand - in this case the transition from spacecraft to rover of the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity", a high-risk stream of events.
To the right is a Mission Control Center, which spends much time unoccupied. Tonight however Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team have come to sweat and fret, and eat the traditional peanuts. They monitor and direct the spacecraft as the tasks unfold autonomously, keeping watch that all is nominally within range (keeping an eye pealed for anomalies.) Tomorrow this room will once again be empty, save for the few workers swapping functions in preparation for the next Mission Control team. Some of the team returns to home mission control for day-to-day planning and operations, some of tonight's team bid farewell and are re-assigned to other teams where their spaceflight expertise can be useful, while others now join the ground operations aspect of Curiosity.
Just beyond the glass beneath the projection screens is the the key to ALL current missions, the Deep Space Network Operations Center. Here is the connections to and from points far and wide. It is the nexus, the hub between all currently operating missions with crews sending commands and receiving data, through here, and out to collections of Deep Space Network Antennas and arrays which are many, and include the famous ones in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone in the Mojave Desert of California. The buck stops here for ensuring scientists remain connected to their experiments. A redundant and robust network which includes transmission media such as microwave, coaxial, twisted-pair and fiber-optic carrying an astronomic variety of analog and digital protocol information must remain under constant vigil to prevent disruption.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. It's mission statement "To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." implies a directive to make it's finding available to all U.S. citizens. Sometimes that is a televised event, and the data screens on either side of the telemetry data screen are displaying the High-Definition video streams of themselves, perhaps a reminder to keep offensive gestures and t-shirt logos out of the public eye. This view is from the camera mounted on the right side of the public viewing platform, and a recursive image is seen on the right data screen. If you could view with infinite pixel density, you would be about here in the worm-hole, giving new meaning to waving at the folks back home.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=...
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/edlconfig/
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert set (#7 of 16 images)
The Mars station was completed in 1966 as a 64-meter (210-foot) diameter antenna, and begun tracking operations by easily acquiring signals from the 1964 Mariner Mars mission spacecraft across a distance of 328 million kilometers (205 million miles). The 64-meter antenna provided 6-1/2 times the transmitting power and receiving sensitivity of the original DSN 26-meter antennas and extended the range of the DSN 2-1/2 times. The Mars antenna was upgraded to 70 meters in June 1988. The improvement was in preparation for the 1989 Voyager 2 encounter with Neptune, at a distance of 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles), and the spacecraft's eventual entry into interstellar space. The extension allows higher data rates to be received over longer distances, thereby increasing the scientific yield of all deep spate missions.
The overall height of the Mars station is 71 meters (234 feet); its total weight, including the concrete pedestal, is 7,262 metric tons (8,000 U.S. tons). The dish and its azimuth-elevation mounting structure on top of the pedestal weigh nearly 2.7 million kilograms (6 million pounds). The structure rotates in azimuth on three flat bearing surfaces that float on a pressurized film of oil about the thickness of a sheet of paper. The pedestal is over 10 meters (33 feet) high and contains 4.4 million kilograms (10 million pounds) of reinforced concrete.
The interior of the pedestal is partitioned into equipment rooms, operating and maintenance areas, and offices. The antenna-pointing control system is installed in a tower-like structure that rises through the (enter of the pedestal but is completely separated from it to provide a stable, vibration free platform. Because of the antenna's narrow receiving beamwidth, pointing accuracies of 0.006 degree are maintained to avoid losses in spacecraft signal power. Regardless of its position, the reflecting surface of the antenna must remain accurate to a fraction of the signal wavelength, meaning that the surface accuracy across the 3,850-square meter (4,600-square-yard) surface is within one centimeter (0.39 inch).
This is the "Big Mama" of parabolic antennae.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert set (#13 of 16 images)
Burros (Mules, Jackasses) were brought to this area when the Gold Mining town of "Goldstone" was established in the 1890's. They brought out ore the was found in local mines. When the town was abandoned in 1917, the burros were left behind. The wild burros wandering this area of the Mojave Deserts are descendents of the domesticated animals that were used by the miners. They roam free and as you can see are afraid of nothing.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert" set (#10 of 16 images)
DSS-15 is a 34m HEF (High-Efficiency) antenna used primarily to communicate with spacecraft.
The station was completed in 1984 and used operationally for the first time in support of the January 1986 Voyager 2 flyby encounter with Uranus more than 3 billion kilometers (1.8 billion miles) away.
DSS-15 is equipped with an electrically driven azimuth-elevation type of mount. The antenna dish is supported by a steel spaceframe, which rotates in azimuth on four self aligning wheel assemblies that ride on a precisely leveled circular steel track. The track is held firmly in place by 16 tangent links that attach to a central reinforced concrete pedestal. The antenna dish structure is attached to the elevation gear wheel, which drives the antenna up and down. The operating speeds are 0.40 degree per second in azimuth and elevation.
DSS-15 is referred to as a high-efficiency antenna because the reflector surface has been precision-shaped for maximum signal-gathering capability.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert set (#4 of 16 images)
The high power transmitter extending from the dish sends commands to the unmanned spacecraft, turning on computers, activating instrumentation and making course corrections. The information derived from the signals sent from the spacecraft enable scientists and engineers to determine precise location and velocity of the spacecraft.
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
In 'Celestial Outpost,' Duncan Rawlinson harnesses the intricate dance of AI and photography to create a scene of humanity's distant reach into the cosmos. Perched on a rugged cliff, the structure stands sentinel - a sophisticated array of sensors, antennae, and relays, all aimed at piercing the celestial veil. This outpost, a nexus of technology and exploration, serves as a beacon of human ingenuity, casting its signal into the star-strewn expanse. Rawlinson's work is a testament to the symbiosis of human creativity and artificial intelligence, envisioning a not-so-distant future where we extend our senses beyond the confines of Earth, seeking connection in the vast network of galactic mysteries.
No, not Raisting (maybe you know some of my antenna shots from Raisting, see my Raisting set)! It's the Ground Station Weilheim and the 30m Deep Space Antenna, operated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt). DLR Space Operations is the central institution for spaceflight operations in Germany.
The Weilheim Ground Station Complex consists of several spacecraft tracking stations. In compliance with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the Weilheim station complex is classified as both, a Deep Space Network (Category B), and a Non Deep Space Network (Near Earth Network, Category A).
There are some 4,5m, 9m, 11m, two 15m and one 30m antennas concentrated in this area.
Read here more informations about this Ground Station Complex (in English and German language available).
This photo is HDR with two photos.
Please view "Goldstone DSN Tracking Station -- Mojave Desert set (#5 of 16 images)
Voyager 1, the earliest of the unmanned spacecraft sent into deep space, has now travelled more than a billion miles from Earth. This distance is beyond the boundaries of our own solar system and considered to be interstellar space. NASA and JPL continue to communicate with Voyager using the signals sent and received by this antenna and its Australian and Spanish counterparts.
Nikon d90, Tamron 10-24 lens. Focal length 17 mm @ f11. 1/500 of a second ISO 200
© Lawrence Goldman 2010, All Rights Reserved
This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
No, not Raisting (maybe you know some of my antenna shots from Raisting, see my Raisting set)! It's the Ground Station Weilheim and the 30m Deep Space Antenna, operated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt). DLR Space Operations is the central institution for spaceflight operations in Germany.
The Weilheim Ground Station Complex consists of several spacecraft tracking stations. In compliance with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the Weilheim station complex is classified as both, a Deep Space Network (Category B), and a Non Deep Space Network (Near Earth Network, Category A).
There are some 4,5m, 9m, 11m, two 15m and one 30m antennas concentrated in this area.
Read here more informations about this Ground Station Complex (in English and German language available).
This photo is HDR with two photos.
No, not Raisting (maybe you know some of my antenna shots from Raisting, see my Raisting set)! It's the Ground Station Weilheim and the 30m Deep Space Antenna, operated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt). DLR Space Operations is the central institution for spaceflight operations in Germany.
The Weilheim Ground Station Complex consists of several spacecraft tracking stations. In compliance with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the Weilheim station complex is classified as both, a Deep Space Network (Category B), and a Non Deep Space Network (Near Earth Network, Category A).
There are some 4,5m, 9m, 11m, two 15m and one 30m antennas concentrated in this area.
Read here more informations about this Ground Station Complex (in English and German language available).