NASA’s 230-Foot Antenna Damaged, Further Straining Deep Space Communications

NASA’s 230-Foot Antenna Damaged, Further Straining Deep Space Communications

This sunset photo shows Deep Space Station 14 (DSS-14), the 230-foot-wide (70-meter) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, part of NASA's Deep Space Network. The network's three complexes around the globe support communications with dozens of deep space missions. DSS-14 is also the agency's Goldstone Solar System Radar, which is used to observe asteroids that come close to Earth.

The aging infrastructure of the Deep Space Network is operating at capacity and in desperate need of an upgrade. The latest news isn’t helping.