Stanford Dish in the early morning hours

The Stanford Dish, known locally as the Dish, is a

radio antenna In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an ...

in the Stanford foothills. The dish was built in 1961 by the

Stanford Research Institute SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

(now SRI International). The cost to construct the antenna was $4.5 million, and was funded by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. In the 1960s the Dish was used to provide information on

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

installations by detecting radio signals bounced off the moon. Later on, the Dish was used to communicate with satellites and spacecraft. With its unique bistatic range radio communications, where the transmitter and receiver are separate units, the powerful radar antenna was well-suited for communicating with spacecraft in regions where conventional radio signals may be disrupted. At one point, the Dish transmitted signals to each of the Voyager craft that

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

dispatched into the outer reaches of the solar system. In 1982 it was used to rescue the

amateur radio satellite An amateur radio satellite is an artificial satellite built and used by amateur radio operators. It forms part of the Amateur-satellite service. These satellites use amateur radio frequency allocations to facilitate communication between amat ...

UoSAT-1 UoSAT-1, also known as UoSAT-OSCAR 9 (UO-9), was a British amateur radio satellite which orbited Earth. It was built at the University of Surrey and launched into low Earth orbit on 6 October 1981. It exceeded its anticipated two-year orbital li ...

Today

The dish is still actively used today for academic and research purposes. It is owned by the U.S. Government and operated by SRI International. It is used for commanding and calibrating spacecraft and for radio astronomy measurements.

Recreational route

The area around the Dish offers a popular 3.5 mile recreational trail, visited by an average of 1,500–1,800 people daily. The trail around the dish is known for its rolling hills and beautiful views, which on a clear day extend to San Jose, San Francisco, and the East Bay. The Stanford Running Club hosts an annual Dish Race and fun run that forms a 3.25 mile loop around the Dish trail. While hikers, walkers, and runners are welcome, biking and dogs at the dish are not allowed on the trail. The opening hours are as per the schedule below, roughly matching daylight hours: As of June 2018, 360 cows were grazing on the grounds of the Stanford Dish. Stanford leases the land to farmers who own the cows.

References

External links

Stanford Dish Area - official web page

SRI Dish page (archive link)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dish Radio telescopes Stanford University places Astronomical imaging Astronomical instruments Buildings and structures in Santa Clara County, California SRI International Trails in the San Francisco Bay Area Buildings and structures completed in 1966