Picture Album of the
DEEP SPACE NETWORK

Venus Research and Development Site at Goldstone, California

NOTE: Click on the image to view it at its highest resolution.

Since its move to the new Venus site in late 1962, the 26-meter az-el-mounted antenna (DSS 13), shown in the background of the photo, has been used to develop very high power radio-frequency transmitters and other new systems. In particular, the transmitters have been used to conduct lunar and planetary radar experiments that employ techniques similar to those used in two-way communications links with distant space probes. These experiments also provide useful scientific data, such as surface characteristics of solar-system bodies and precise determination of their positions and motions. An experiment conducted from March to May 1961 had made the first confirmed radar contact with Venus, provided the first accurate knowledge of its retrograde motion, and enabled a more accurate determination of the astronomical unit; the latter was essential for accurately navigating Mariner 2 toward its flyby of Venus in December 1962.

The Venus site is also the location of a 9-meter (29.5-foot) antenna (foreground in the photo) that has been used since 1962 for the development of ranging capability in the operational Network. A 1/7 scale model of the 64-meter (210-foot) antenna later built at Goldstone, it was used to test design and operation of the latter's feed system.

The az-e1 antenna was decommissioned in 1992, upon the completion and full equipping of a new beam-waveguide antenna.

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