The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called the Goldstone Observatory, is a satellite ground station located in Fort Irwin in the U.S. state of California. Operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its main purpose is to track and communicate with interplanetary space missions. It is named after Goldstone, California, a nearby gold-mining ghost town. The station is one of three satellite communication stations in the NASA 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 controls interplanetary spacecraft and receives the images and scientific information they collect. The others are the

Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC), in Spanish and officially ''Complejo de Comunicaciones de Espacio Profundo de Madrid'', is a satellite ground station located in Robledo de Chavela, Spain, and operated by the Instituto Naci ...

in Spain and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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. The complex includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station (aka DSS 11), which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Antennas

Five large parabolic (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 home

satellite dish A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radi ...

. However, since the spacecraft they communicate with are much further away than the communication 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 the ''

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

'' spacecraft, which, at 21.5 billion kilometers, is the most distant manmade object from Earth. The radio

frequencies Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

used for spacecraft communication are in the microwave part of the radio spectrum;

S band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the convention ...

(2.29–2.30 GHz),

X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...

(8.40–8.50 GHz) and Ka 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 power radio transmitters (80kW) powered by klystron tubes. A major goal in the design of the station is to reduce interference with the weak incoming downlink radio signals by natural and manmade radio noise. The remote Mojave Desert location was chosen because it is far from manmade sources of radio noise such as motor vehicles. The RF front ends of the

radio receiver In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. Th ...

s at the dishes use ruby masers, consisting of a bar of synthetic ruby cooled by liquid 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 sensitive

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

s for astronomical research, such as mapping

quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...

s and other celestial radio sources;

radar mapping Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

planets, the Moon, comets and

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s; spotting comets and asteroids with the potential to strike Earth; and the search for ultra-high energy neutrino interactions in the Moon by using large-aperture

radio antennas 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 a ...

History

The Goldstone complex was created in 1958 by the JPL to support the

Pioneer program The Pioneer programs were two series of United States lunar and planetary space probes exploration. The first program, which ran from 1958 to 1960, unsuccessfully attempted to send spacecraft to orbit the Moon, successfully sent one spacecraft to ...

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 of radio interference. This site, on the grounds of Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, was found to meet the criteria. Construction of the first radio telescope, DSS 11 or the Pioneer Deep Space Station, was begun by the United States Army and taken over by NASA after its creation. It is a parabolic Cassegrain antenna capable of receiving signals in the 1 to 3 GHz range. It was taken out of service in 1981, having been technologically bypassed by later telescopes. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1985 for its pioneering role in deep space exploration.

"Goldstone has the bird"

It is commonly believed that the first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

satellite,

Explorer 1 Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958 and was part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The mission followed the first two satellites the previous year; the Soviet Union's ...

, was confirmed to be in orbit by the use of the phrase "Goldstone has the bird". 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!", incorrectly identifying "Gold" as a temporary tracking station at

Earthquake Valley Earthquake Valley is a desert valley east of Julian, California, which contains parts of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It is the location of the Shelter Valley Ranchos subdivision, which is also known as the unincorporated community of She ...

, east of Julian, 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. 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.

Complex tours

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.

In popular culture

The 70m dish also known as Mars or DSS14 is featured in the opening sequences of the 1968 film '' Ice Station Zebra''. The Goldstone Facility was prominently featured in Part 1 of '' The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)'' episode, "Prometheus". ''

A Boy and His Dog (1975 film) ''A Boy and His Dog'' is a cycle of narratives by author Harlan Ellison. The cycle tells the story of an amoral boy (Vic) and his telepathic dog (Blood), who work together as a team to survive in the post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear wa ...

'' 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).

References

External links

Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex Website

JPL: Images of the Deep Space Network Goldstone, California

Historic 'Mars antenna' in Mojave Desert undergoing repairs (''Los Angeles Times'', October 3, 2010)
{{Authority control Deep Space Network Space radars Mojave Desert Radio telescopes Astronomical observatories in California Aerospace museums in California Museums in San Bernardino County, California Science museums in California Buildings and structures in San Bernardino County, California National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in San Bernardino County, California 1958 establishments in California