NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California has taken delivery of a new 34‑meter (114‑foot) radio‑frequency antenna, expanding the agency’s deep‑space communications and navigation infrastructure. The network, which comprises massive dish antennas at three worldwide complexes, currently supports more than 40 spacecraft operating throughout the solar system and beyond.
The newly commissioned Deep Space Station 23 (DSS‑23) is sited at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, and is operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.
NASA officials, staff, and guests convened at the completed DSS‑23 antenna for a ribbon‑cutting ceremony. The antenna is the most recent addition to the Deep Space Network’s Aperture Enhancement Project, initiated in 2009 to modernize and expand the network through the installation of six new 34‑meter multifrequency beam‑waveguide antennas. These adaptable dishes improve performance for missions that employ a range of radio frequencies.
“By expanding the Deep Space Network, we are strengthening the communications foundation NASA needs for the bold missions ahead — from exploring more of the Moon than ever before to peering deeper into the solar system,” said James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This new antenna will help us deliver on our national goals for space exploration and push beyond the limits of what once seemed impossible.”
Following a testing campaign conducted from May through July to verify its performance, DSS‑23 entered service on August 3, initially tracking NASA’s Chandra X‑ray Observatory. Since then, it has maintained communications with dozens of missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Psyche, Juno, Voyager 1, and other deep‑space robotic probes.
“The addition of this next‑generation antenna brings us closer to a fully modernized network that leverages advanced technology to secure NASA’s leadership in deep‑space communications,” said Dave Gallagher, director of JPL. “After more than six decades of uninterrupted operations supporting pivotal missions, these upgrades position the network for a new era of exploration. The teams that designed, planned, and built DSS‑23 should take great pride in this achievement.”
Construction of DSS‑23 commenced in February 2020. In December 2024, the 133‑ton metal reflector framework was hoisted and secured to the antenna’s pedestal, after which engineers fitted the panels that reflect the radio‑frequency signals sent to and received from spacecraft. The subsequent phase involved precise calibration to ensure seamless operation with the rest of the network.
DSS‑23 becomes the fifth antenna at the Goldstone complex, joining three existing 34‑meter antennas and a 70‑meter (230‑foot) dish, and it is the fifth enhancement‑project antenna to join the overall network, which also has sites near Madrid and Canberra, Australia. Multifrequency beam‑waveguide antennas route signals down to a stable, climate‑controlled underground vault, eliminating the need to place heavy, sensitive electronics on the rotating dish. This approach provides flexibility and simplifies maintenance and future upgrades.
“The biggest challenge wasn’t actually constructing the antenna. It was transforming a complex collection of mechanical, electrical, software, radio‑frequency, and infrastructure systems into a single, mission‑ready asset,” said Germaine Aziz, manager of the Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Project at JPL. “Every subsystem must be integrated, calibrated, and verified to operate with extraordinary precision and reliability before it can support NASA’s deep‑space missions.”
The enhancement effort will conclude when the sixth project antenna, Deep Space Station 33, becomes operational at the Canberra complex in 2029, raising the total count of 34‑meter antennas across the network to 13. These 34‑meter antennas can be phased together to function as a communications backup for each site’s single 70‑meter dish, which after more than 50 years of nearly continuous service are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and repair.
Operated by the California Institute of Technology for NASA, JPL oversees the Deep Space Network under the guidance of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate. Over 100 NASA and partner missions depend on the Deep Space Network and the Near Space Network, encompassing activities such as supporting astronauts on the International Space Station, enabling future Artemis lunar missions, monitoring Earth, exploring the Moon, and investigating the solar system and beyond.
