DSS-13 Venus Research and Development Site | research and development centre

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The Venus site began operation in 1962 as the Network research and development station and is named for its first operational activity, a successful radar detection of the planet Venus. The 26-meter Venus antenna was originally located at the Echo site, where it was erected to support the Project Echo experiment described above. In 1961, the antenna was moved en masse by truck to its present location, a shielded site where research and development of high-power transmitters could be curried out without causing radio interference at the other stations, and where the electromagnetic radiation danger to personnel could be minimized by station layout.

Along with high-power transmitters, other capabilities developed and first tested at the Venus site include low-noise receivers, computer-controlled subsystems, digital signal processing, antenna arraying to increase telemetry data rates, remote station operations, and systems and equipment for NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Radar astronomy experiments, which employ high-power transmitters, low-noise receivers, precision timing systems, and digital signal processing techniques, have been used extensively to field-test and verify new capabilities before their introduction into the Network.

The 26-meter (85-foot) Venus antenna is equipped with an azimuth-elevation type of mount. Its hydraulic drive system is designed for relatively fast angular movement and can be operated at 2 degrees per second in elevation and azimuth. A new 34-meter antenna is scheduled to begin research and development activities in 1991.

The 9-meter (30-foot) diameter antenna located at the Venus site is no longer in use. It was used earlier for a number of research experiments, including master time synchronization transmissions to the overseas complexes. The time signals were directed to the other complexes by bouncing them off the Moon.