Goldstone Deep Space Station 14-Mars Station
USA /
California /
Barstow /
World
/ USA
/ California
/ Barstow
World / United States / California
NASA, radio telescope, satellite/space tracking station
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).
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).
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldstone_Deep_Space_Communications_Complex
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 35°25'25"N 116°53'19"W
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- LOFAR stations 8802 km
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- Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre 8990 km
- UTR-2 radio telescope 10221 km
- Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope - New South Wales, AU 12493 km
- Goldstone Deep Space Communications Tracking Station 11 km
- Desert Warfare Training area 15 km
- Fort Irwin National Training Center 25 km
- Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, South Range 29 km
- Grass Valley Wilderness Area 41 km
- Coyote Lake 42 km
- Cuddeback Air to Ground Gunnery Range 49 km
- Harper Dry Lake 56 km
- Mojave Solar Project 61 km
- Hinkley, California 62 km
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Tracking Station
Desert Warfare Training area
Fort Irwin National Training Center
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, South Range
Grass Valley Wilderness Area
Coyote Lake
Cuddeback Air to Ground Gunnery Range
Harper Dry Lake
Mojave Solar Project
Hinkley, California
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