Picture Album of the
DEEP SPACE NETWORK

Subnet of High-Efficiency, 34-Meter Antennas

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This photo shows the three high-efficiency antennas in the subnet: Goldstone is in the center; Robledo, Spain is in the lower left; and Tidbinbilla, Australia is in the lower right. These antennas were designed to have an optimum efficiency at X-band (8.4 gigahertz), which was to become the standard downlink frequency for solar-system exploration. An important secondary objective was to have a reasonable efficiency at Ka-band (32 gigahertz). The antennas also represent a departure from 34-meter polar-mounted antennas previously implemented because they are az-el mounted (also known as "track and wheel" for the az). The change in mounting the parabolic structure was driven by lower construction cost and greater stiffness required for higher communication frequencies. The subnet was completed by 1986, in time for the Voyager encounter with Uranus; therefore, it is sometimes referred to as the Uranus subnet.

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